Manali traffic to be diverted

Our Correspondent

Kullu, April 4

In the wake of upcoming tourist season and the ongoing work of four-laning the national highway between Kullu and Manali, the district administration has decided to divert heavy traffic through the Kullu-Naggar-Manali left bank road.

Kullu Deputy Commissioner Yunus Khan said a committee had been set up to explore scope for traffic management to prevent traffic jams in the wake of construction of the highway during the summer season. He said after the recommendations of the committee it was decided that heavy traffic would be diverted through the Kullu-Naggar-Manali road during the tourist season. He said various other aspects related to traffic were being analysed to find appropriate remedies for them.

The DC said the Public Works Department (PWD) had repaired many points and widened bottlenecks on the road to allow Volvo buses to ply easily on the road. He remarked that earlier the road was narrow at some points and this was hampering the smooth movement of Volvo buses. He said traffic would be diverted after the PWD would complete the remaining job, likely before April 15.

The DC said a heavy rush of tourist vehicles was witnessed during the summer season and it created various traffic problems. In order to avoid hassles due to the ongoing work of four-laning of the national highway, heavy traffic would be diverted through left bank road from Kullu. He said a few local buses would be allowed to ply on the right bank road to provide connectivity to villages en route.

The district administration had geared up to cope with traffic hassles faced during the summer season and the PWD had carried out the job of widening of the road at various points on the Kullu-Naggar-Manali road. The DC said heavy vehicles could either go by the Kullu bypass road from Bhuntar or cross the Gammon bridge at Ramshila near Kullu town to take the left bank road.