Bumpy roads in Kullu, Mandi worry apple orchardists

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, July 13

With apple season approaching fast orchardists are worried over transportation of their produce to distant markets because of poor condition of rural roads and main roads in Kullu and Mandi districts.

Vast tract of land in Kullu and Mandi districts is under apple cultivation, which is the sole source of livelihood for the residents of both these districts. Due to poor condition of link roads and the highways, the orchardists are apprehensive and foresee huge difficulty in transporting their horticulture produce to distant markets in time.

In Kullu district, Manali, Banjar, Khrahal valley and Ani Nirmand area are under apple cultivation. The roads here in poor condition. The stretch at Pagal Nullah on the Kullu-Sainj road has been a cause of concern for the residents of Sainj valley for the past several years.

Naresh Kumar, a resident of Banjar valley, said many link roads under Banjar sub division in Kullu district are not even metalled. During rainy season, the situation becomes worse rendering driving loaded vehicles on the stretch which turns muddy and slippery a risky affair.

Rajiv Kimta, an apple orchardists in Kullu, said the link road from Kaisdhar to Kullu was in a bad shape. Apart from this, Kullu-Nagar road and Nagar-Jana road are full of potholes at several points, needing urgent repairs.

He said that the Chandigarh-Manali highway is in a bad shape for the past many years, which is big hurdle in transporting apple produce to distant markets in time. This highway is in bad condition from Bhunter in Kullu ahead up to Sundernagar in Mandi due to ongoing fourlanning work. The poor condition of this highway was also having an adverse impacting tourism in Kullu-Manali.

Similarly in Mandi district, the Ani-Karsog road full of potholes at several places. Local link road in Seraj assembly segment from Baryogi to Kakradhar is bumpy. Orchardists of area have urged the PWD authority to undertake maintenance work to make it worthy of smooth traffic flow. In Mandi district, Seraj valley and Karsog valley are popular for apple production in the district.

“There is an urgent need to repair Ani-Karsog road for smooth traffic. Apart from this, a few link roads are in bad condition in Chhatri area and should be upgraded on a priority. It will be a great help for us,” Khem Singh, a resident of Seraj, said.