CHANDIGARH: The tribal districts Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti of Himachal Pradesh have been cut off from the state capital Shimla due to the blockade of National Highway 5 (Hindustan-Tibet Road) following the falling of rockfalls , landslides, and road cave-ins.
Three people are feared dead after the pickup truck in which they were travelling veered off the road and fell into the Sutlej in Kinnaur district. Sources said the National Highway has been blocked at three places Baroni, Manglad, and Pashada near Jhakri in the Rampur subdivision of Shimla. The alternate routes are closed due to heavy rains and landslides.
The Luhri-Aut National Highway 305 is also blocked at three places and gushing waters have entered many houses. The stranded drivers of public transport services are running out of food and trying to cross the blocked stretches on foot.
Ranjit, who was going to Bhawanagar from Baddi carrying LPG cylinders in his truck, said he was stranded for four days due to landslides at several places. A landslide in Pashada yesterday has further worsened the situation. A social worker Pawan Negi said incidents of landslides and rock falls were more frequent on the national highway near Jhakri as there are stone crushers in this area.
“These crushers have contributed to the soil erosion,” he said, adding the crushers should be shifted away from the highway to save the hills from cracking. The road connectivity in the hill state has been severely hit due to the heavy rains leading to flash floods and landslides in the last more than two weeks. As many as 15 bridges have been washed away and 34 have been substantially damaged across the state, mainly in Kullu and Mandi districts, and more than 1,000 roads have been damaged of these 566 was still blocked. The maximum damage to roads is in Shimla district.
Sources said that some 15 bridges have been washed away and 34 substantially damaged in the flashfloods as five of them are in the Mandi and four of them are in Kullu circles of the Public Works Department and four bridges in upper Shimla and Kinnaur districts.
“As of now, we are trying to erect bailey bridges, wherever possible. spans are being set up to ensure that at least the supply of essential commodities is restored,’’ said an official of PWD department.
As per the initial estimates, the loss due to the washing away of the bridges is around Rs 54 crore and another Rs 41 crore due to damage to bridges. The actual cost will come once the DPRs are made for the new bridges, said sources.
15 bridges washed off
The road connectivity in the hill state has been severely hit. As many as 15 bridges have been washed away and 34 have been substantially damaged across the state, mainly in Kullu and Mandi districts. More than 1,000 roads have been damaged, of these 566 were still blocked. The maximum damage to roads is in
Shimla district.