CHANDIGARH: As per the flood damage report of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the four-lane Kiratpur-Manali and Chandigarh-Kalka-Shimla Nation Highways have suffered the maximum loss due to the recent heavy rains that led to flashfloods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh. A four member expert team comprising professors from IIT, Mandi and Roorkee will be visiting the hill state in the first week of August to analyze the damage and suggest long term restoration measures. It is estimated that the total damage to national highways in the hill state is approximately between Rs 300 to Rs 400 crore.
Regional Officer, National Highways Authority of India of Himachal Pradesh, Abdul Basit had on Thursday called on Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla and presented the flood damage report of NHAI to the governor. He said that Kiratpur-Manali and Chandigarh-Kalka-Shimla Nation Highways suffered the most.
Abdul Basit said that the maximum damage has happened on the Pandoh-Kullu-Manali National Highway. The highway at Kullu-Manali has been completely washed away at many places and the movement of vehicles is being facilitated from Raisen through the left bank. He said that to provide relief to people, who have lost the connectivity between Kullu and Manali, a 4 to 5-meter-wide temporary road is being constructed so that small vehicles can pass through. At present, five kilometre temporary road is yet to be constructed between Kalath and 16 Mile. It will be completed in the next 10 to 12 days. The construction works are getting hampered due to bad weather and continuous rains. A temporary passage between Raisento PatliKuhl has been constructed.
Sources said that the Kiratpur-Manali road suffered the maximum damage at Raison, where around one-kilometre stretch of road was completely damaged by the floods in Beas river. There is no sign of the four-lane road left in the stretch. The Chandigarh-Shimla National Highway has been damaged near Koti for three to four kilometres at five places as two lanes have suffered the maximum damage, said sources. Meanwhile, Basit said that three spans of a 50-year-old bridge had collapsed on the Pinjore-Baddi-Nalagarh Highway, parallel to which a permanent bridge is being constructed by the NHAI. However, the work is being hampered due to frequent flooding of the drain.
Havoc in Uttarakhand
The devastating monsoon rains in Uttarakhand wreaked havoc in Kotdwar town of Pauri and Pithoragarh districts on Friday night. Heavy rains have created a flood-like situation in Kotdwara and the Paniali rivulet has caused the most devastation in the city’s Kaudiya ward. Late at night, many houses were flooded, people left their belongings and ran to save their lives. Dr Vikram Singh, director of the State Meteorological Centre, said, “A yellow alert has been issued for heavy rains in many areas across the state for the next three days.”