Munish Sood
MANDI: In a remarkable display of humanitarian spirit, a team from Afcons Infrastructure Limited, engaged in the construction of the Chandigarh-Manali four-lane highway, stepped in to assist hundreds of stranded travellers late Tuesday (August 6, 2025) night, turning what could have been a night of despair into a story of compassion and community.
At around 7 pm, massive boulders dislodged from a hillside and crashed onto an oil tanker beneath the Dawada flyover, prompting authorities to immediately halt traffic for safety reasons. Vehicles heading from Mandi were brought to a standstill inside the Dawada and Hanogi tunnels, while incoming traffic from the Kullu side was stopped at Aut and Panarsa.
As hours passed, more than 150 vehicles and over 500 people, including families with young children, found themselves stranded inside the tunnels — without access to food, drinking water or communication.
Relief arrives inside tunnel at 2 am
At 2 am, just when hope seemed to fade, a vehicle from Afcons Infrastructure Ltd arrived carrying emergency supplies. Leading the charge was site engineer Vishwa Sharma, who, along with his team, personally distributed food, milk and water to the stranded travellers.
Under the direction of Project Manager Vinod Thakur and HR Head Gyan Chand, the team loaded their vehicle with 30 litres of packaged Amul milk, 10 litres of fresh milk for infants, 150 packets of biscuits, 150 packets of savoury snacks (namkeen), 100 cream rolls, 100 chips packets and 100 bottles of drinking water.
Special care was taken to ensure that milk was provided to children and infants who had been crying from hunger and exhaustion.
“As soon as we heard that people were stuck and children had no milk, we couldn’t sit idle. We did what had to be done. This was a team effort, from engineers to labourers,” said Vishwa Sharma, visibly moved by the response.
The on-ground relief effort saw members from all levels of the construction crew come together. Among those who assisted shoulder to shoulder with Sharma were Karam Singh, Narendra, Sanju, Sunil, Raj Kumar, and Dhalu Ram, all part of the Pandoh Bypass-Takoli four-lane project team.
Travellers stranded in the tunnels described the Afcons team as “nothing short of angels.” “Tonight, we saw humanity alive. They came like messengers of hope. Without them, the night could’ve turned into a nightmare,” said one visibly emotional traveller, cradling her sleeping child.
The incident has sparked widespread appreciation for Afcons Infrastructure’s proactive response and compassionate action. Social media has also begun to take note, with users calling for the team’s effort to be recognised at the state and national level.
