2 lanes of Parwanoo-Solan NH to be restored by Oct 15

Ambika Sharma

Solan, August 30

To facilitate the transportation of agrarian produce, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will restore two lanes of the Parwanoo-Solan section of the National Highway-5 by October 15.

Contractor told to speed up work

Initially, a 75-m portion of the hill had eroded near Chakki Mod, but the damage spread to 210 m after the recent rain spells. The contractor has been told to speed up the highway restoration work.

Abdul Basit, NHAI Regional Officer

The road is used for the transportation of apples and other agrarian produce. Apple transportation was at its peak when the highway remained blocked at Chakki Mod for several days earlier this month due to the erosion of a nearby hill.

“By October 15, a bituminous two-laned road will be laid at places where the highway has been transformed into an earthen path,” said NHAI Project Director Anand Dhaiya.

He said NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav, who visited Kullu on Tuesday to examine the damaged highways, had directed the staff to stick to the deadline. The work progress would be reviewed on weekly basis, Dhaiya added.

NHAI Regional Officer Abdul Basit said, “Initially, a 75-m portion of the hill had eroded near Chakki Mod, but the damage has spread to 210 m after the recent rain spells. The contractor has been directed to speed up the highway restoration work. Even heavy vehicles have, however, been plying on this highway stretch, although it looks like a kutcha road now.”

Notably, the NHAI’s image has taken a beating after a colossal damage was caused to various highways in the state. Though heavy rain triggered the damage, questions were being raised over the quality and design adopted in the construction. To improve its image, the NHAI is now keen on ensuring early restoration of the damaged highways.

“All repair work, including removal of debris, will be accomplished within the given deadline,” Dhaiya said.

A four-member expert committee comprising engineers from the IIT-Roorkee, IIT-Mandi, a former member project from the NHAI as well as a structural engineer would soon visit this stretch to examine the damage. The committee, which visited Kullu-Manali earlier this month, had failed to visit this stretch due to the inclement weather.