Kullu: Banjar bypass project gets go-ahead

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, May 8

The plan for the Banjar bypass road has been approved by the government.

The PWD has prepared an estimate of Rs 7 crore for the project which will also include one Bailey bridge. The road between Sidhwan and Shegalu Bazar in the town is too narrow due to which the area witnesses frequent traffic jams.

Cause of regular traffic snarls

The road between Sidhwan and Shegalu Bazar in the town is narrow due to which the area witnesses frequent traffic jams

Residents said recently a bus got stuck here, it took more than an hour to clear the road and restore traffic.

Now, the commuters will get rid of the problem after the construction of the bypass for Banjar. The process for the land acquisition has started. After the approval from the government the PWD will start the work on the bypass.

Residents Rakesh and Lekh Raj said locals along with tourists suffer due to the narrow road at Banjar. The the situation gets worse during the tourist season. The commuters would benefit after the bypass is constructed.

KK Sharma, Superintending Engineer, PWD, Kullu, said the government had given approval to the construction of the bypass road. The land acquisition work would be completed soon as people had agreed to provide land on rates approved by the negotiating committe. A Bailey bridge would be built on the nullah.

The Tribune had, a number of times, highlighted the issue on the narrow stretches of NH-305. A large number of tourists visit Banjar, Jibhi and the Tirthan valley. Many pilgrims visit the Jalori Pass to pay obeisance to the famous Nagni Devi temple in Seolsar.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has also started the process of widening the Aut-Luhri highway. The residents had been urging the government for a long time to widen the road.