Chamba-Holi stretch reopened for pedestrians

Our Correspondent

Chamba, April 29

Residents of the Holi area here heaved a sigh of relief after the Public Works Department reopened the Chamba-Holi road for pedestrians 12 days after it was blocked due to a massive landslide near Kharamukh.

The road was blocked on April 17 after a crack in the hillside led to a landslide. The closure had caused inconvenience to pedestrians and commuters. However, people are still concerned about the ongoing risks of landslides in the vicinity.

Efforts to mitigate the danger are underway, with machinery deployed to stabilise the affected areas. Despite these efforts, the risk persists, prompting calls for continued vigilance and caution from local authorities.

Continuous landslide and rockfall since then has hindered the restoration efforts.

Officials said a section of a hill had caved in. Efforts have been made by the department and a hydropower company to mitigate the danger, but the threat still persists.

Consequently, there are difficulties in restoring the main route. Meanwhile, the residents of the area are advocating for measures to reduce the risk of landslides at this location and making efforts to restore the route.

The closure of the route had led to logistical challenges, with the restricted movement of buses and private vehicles for over a week. In response, authorities have rerouted essential supplies via Sinyur, ensuring that essential services are not disrupted.

Residents of the area, too, don’t have any other alternative than to use the Sinyur route or climb through a risky trek to reach their destinations. Essential supplies such as milk, bread, eggs and vegetables are being also transported through the route.

However, this route also poses a risk to the commuters as there is a wooden bridge, which has a limited load-bearing capacity. As a result, people unload goods at one end and carry them manually across the bridge, while others are using alternative means to reach the Holi area, leading to increased costs. Consequently, the prices of vegetables and other goods have risen in the area. Additionally, the public transport has also come to a complete halt as Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) and private buses are stranded in Holi.

PWD Assistant Engineer Bhan Chand Thakur said it would take few more days for the stretch to be restored for the vehicular traffic.

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