Himachal election agenda: NHAI’s ‘negligence’ puts lives of commuters at risk on Mandi-Manali highway, some call it ‘well of death’

 The Newz Radar

MANDI: With Himachal Pradesh bracing for the Lok Sabha poll and byelections to the six Assembly seats, The Newz Radar has its eyes set on key public issues plaguing the state even as most politicians continue to take to mudslinging, not raising matters that matter the most.

In Mandi parliamentary constituency, public expectations are high for meaningful discourse by both BJP and Congress candidates to address the dire state of the Mandi-Manali National Highway, which suffered considerable damage during the monsoon season last year. The stretch between Mandi and Pandoh suffered extensively due to landslides and road cave-ins.

The construction work on the Kiratpur-Manali four-lane highway has been going on for the past eight years with approximately 80 per cent of the work complete. The work on the critical sections such as the Mandi-Pandoh stretch and Mandi Bypass, however, remains incomplete. The Mandi-Pandoh stretch, in particular, has evolved into a perilous road, with frequent incidents of large rocks falling from hills hitting passing vehicles, putting the lives of commuters at commuters.

Commuters have blamed the allegedly lackadaisical approach of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in executing the four-lane project for its poor condition at several points. “After the rain devastation last year, big announcements were made of repairing the national highway in Mandi and Kullu districts in a record time. But nothing as such has happened even after the passage of almost a year. The NHAI’s response has been cold, leaving sections of the road unrepaired for long period, which has increased the hardships of the commuters. No concrete steps are visible for repairing the dangerous sections on the highway,” says Diki Thakur, a resident of Manali who frequently travel to Chandigarh through the highway.

With the impending summer tourist season set to intensify traffic volume on the highway, concerns mount over heightened dangers posed by the narrow and precarious road conditions. Sanket Sharma, a tourist from Chandigarh, alleges that though 10 months have passed since the rain devastation, NHAI officials “have not taken a single step towards providing safe journey to the thousands of commuters who commute using the NH daily”. “The unscientifically cut mountains continue to scare the commuters. But the NHAI officials just don’t seem to be bothered. This is despite several innocent lives having been snuffed out when rocks hit their vehicles,” adds Sanket.

Chaman Lal, a Mandi resident, says it is a known fact that “despite knowing everything, NHAI officials maintain silence, ignoring the hardships faced by millions of commuters”. “Due to the NHAI officials’ negative attitude, the Mandi-Pandoh route is always at the risk of a major disaster. People who travel on this route daily call it the ‘well of death’. Many students travel from Pandoh to Mandi for studying in schools and colleges daily. Their parents are constantly worried about their safety due to the poor road condition,” says Chaman.
All attempts by TNR to contact NHAI’s Project Head Varun Chari proved futile as he didn’t respond to repeated calls on his cellphone.