Chamba-Bharmour highway reopens for light vehicles

The Public Works Department (PWD) has restored the Chamba-Bharmour National Highway-154 A for light traffic within a week though it had suffered extensive damage due to heavy rain recently.

Around 90 per cent of the road is open for heavy vehicles and PWD officials are confident that its remaining stretch will be fully functional for all kind of vehicles within the next two or three days.

The 133-km stretch of the highway between Katori and Bangla along the Punjab border heading towards Bharmour was battered due to incessant heavy rain from August 23 to 26, cutting off the tribal valley and leaving more than 15,000 Manimahesh pilgrims stranded.

Jeet Singh Thakur, Superintending Engineer, PWD, Bilaspur, whom the government had deputed to lead the restoration efforts, said that the road had suffered extensive damage and was expected to take at least two months to become functional.

“The road was damaged on at least 127 locations. The 62-km stretch between Chamba and Bharmour was the worst hit,” he added. In fact, the 3.5-km of the highway was completely washed away or there was heavy subsidence at places like Dundhiara, Parel, Janghi, Kalsui, Choori, Lothal, Achhi Ghar and Durgethi and required full reconstruction, said Thakur. At Lothal, a 700-metre stretch of the road required reconstruction, he added. Though restoration efforts began on August 27 when rain relented, extensive work was done on August 30.

Thakur said that the work was done in a mission mode and teams worked round the clock despite adverse weather conditions and threat of shooting stones and landslides. “We deployed our entire manpower along with eight poclain machines, 10 backhoe loaders and two bulldozers for restoration work. Our men worked day and night to reopen the road,” he added.

The task was further complicated by another spell of heavy rain from September 2, which again caused severe damage to the highway and hampered the restoration efforts.