Kinnaur cut off as rising Satluj washes away bridge

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 23

Commuters were stranded on both sides of the strategic National Highway-22 at Cholling in Kinnaur today after the rising level of the Satluj river washed away a culvert raised on the river by the PWD for the movement of traffic.

PWD officials, however, claimed that small vehicles were diverted on the 20-km Tapri-Urni-Chigaon road, but this route continues to be hazardous because of falling boulders.

Residents’ anger is simmering as the National highways wing has failed to stabilise the 500-m landslide-prone stretch between Tapri and Cholling even after three years.

People remained stranded at Cholling and Tapri for hours today. “We have to pay heavily to cover the 20 km link road via Chigaon to reach our destinations from Cholling towards Karcham and from Tapri towards Bhawanagar," said Surinder Negi, a resident of Kalpa, who remained stranded on the road for eight hours.

The culvert was temporarily raised during the winter months when the river level had receded and was unlikely to be restored for months together, PWD engineers said.

“The problem has not only hit local horticultural economy, but tourism as well, which was about to pick pace with the onset of summer season,” rued Ramesh, a hotelier from Kaza in Spiti, the Buddhist circuit which is a favourite destination for foreign tourists.

Executive engineer NH-22 P Negi said they have pressed the machinery to widen the road on the Chigaon route as it was unlikely that the culvert would be restored as the river level had risen and continue to rise due to the melting of snow in its catchments.

“We cannot clear the landside-prone stretch beyond Tapri due to falling boulders,” he said.