VISAKHAPATNAM: A Study tour to Kullu with family and officials of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) presented an unexpected and nightmarish experience to 60 corporators. The group was stranded on the ghat road between Kullu Manali and Chandigarh for over 24 hours after a series of landslides disrupted traffic.
The team went to Himachal Pradesh to study the 24-hour piped water supply, among others, provided by small municipalities in Kullu. GVMC spent over Rs 1.60 crore for the tour, officials said.A few metres ahead of vehicles, a huge boulder fell on a truck on the ghat road on Friday. As the road was blocked, the team had to spend the night in the buses. When the ghat road was cleared on Saturday afternoon, boulders rolled down again, disrupting traffic.
The group had reached Mandi in the evening. Deputy Mayor Jiyyani Sridhar said they were to reach Chandigarh in the morning, but could not due to landslides at five places. “The local district administration provided bread and paranthas to us in the morning,” he said.
The group will visit Mathura and Agra on Monday, after reaching Delhi on Sunday. The GVMC chief said the corporators would reach Chandigarh by Saturday night. “We have spoken to the Mandi district magistrate to make necessary arrangements. There are 38 women in the group,’’ he added.They are to reach Vizag on August 23, he said. Mayor Golagani Venkata Hari Kumari, who returned to city from Kullu on Friday, said all the corporators were safe.