The Newz Radar
MANDI: The Chandigarh-Manali National Highway has been closed for traffic since May 4/5 midnight due to a major landslide near 7 Miles, about 5 km from here. A landslide had blocked the road at the same site a few days ago and the highway had remained closed for over 10 hours.
The latest landslide is said to be bigger in magnitude and according to ASP Sagar Chand, the highway shall may be restored for vehicular traffic by 4 pm.
No one is reported to have been injured in the incident except. A screen plant of a contractor is learnt to have got buried under debris and an office container kept near the site of excavation slid with the muck and debris towards the river.
According to the ASP, the traffic coming from Manali towards Mandi, Chandigarh and Delhi had been diverted via Pandoh-Chail Chowk road and light vehicles moving towards Manali had been advised to take the Mandi-Bajaura route, which connects the highway in Bajaura.
The ASP, who has been monitoring the situation, said private company KMC Constructions, which has been assigned the four-lane work by the NHAI, had delayed the cutting work by months, leading to huge inconvenience to commuters.
“It has been doing the cutting work in a non-technical and unscientific manner, leading to slides every now and then. We have advised and warned the company several times through official letters and mails regarding application of proper safety norms on sites and adoption of scientific cutting techniques, but they seldom adhere to it,” he asserted. The other reason for occasional slides is that the mountains on this portion were made of loose strata, which failed to withhold the vibrations, he said.
The NHAI has been continuously ignoring the plight of travellers who are at the receiving end as other than facing the risk of falling boulders, they get stuck in long traffic jams. With the tourist already having begun, the traffic on the Mandi-Manali highway has increased manifold. Long queues of vehicles shall be witnessed on this highway at any time of the day. If the situation continues, it may hamper the much-awaited tourist season.
NHAI Project Manager Varun Chari did not take calls despite several attempts and personal message on his WhatsApp number remained unresponsive. The Newz Radar had published a detailed report on the dangers involved in this stretch of the national highway, which posed a serious threat to the commuters moving on it round the clock.
