Dug-up road: Traffic goes haywire

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 25

Telecom companies have dug up the single lane roads from Dharamsala to McLeodganj that is leading to traffic snarls.

The road from Dharamsala is very narrow and there were certain points where the road has been damaged due to landslides. Despite this, the telecom companies have dug up deep ditches along the road that have squeezed the width of road to just a few feet due which only one vehicle can move at a time.

It is peak tourist season in Dharamsala. The numbers of tourists reaching McLeodganj, the main tourist hub of the area, is very high. Dug up pits were causing traffic snarls.

The recent heavy rains in the region have aggravated the condition of the road as the pits left by the telecom companies have been converted into virtual mud traps, posing threat to commuting vehicles, especially during the night.

Executive Engineer, Public Works Department, Vijay Chaudhary said that he had recently issued a warning to the telecom companies against damaging the road. “I have asked them to dig just 100 metre road at a time and fill and compact the pits after laying optical fibre. I have also asked the companies to look for alternatives of laying optical fibre where the road is narrow and prone to landslides”, he said.

The executive engineer said that the companies have to lay wires from Dharamsala to Naddi.

Interestingly, the entire road from Dharamsala to McLeodganj and Naddi has been metalled recently. It was after a long time that the condition of the road had improved.

However, the digging of the roads by the telecom companies will once again deteriorate their condition. The stretches lead to one of the most famous tourist destinations in the state.