Change in Chauntra-Padhar road alignment opposed
The Four-Lane Sangharsh Samiti has said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should appoint a team of experts to finalise the alignment of package-4 of the Pathankot-Mandi four-lane road project between Chauntra and Padhar. The NHAI should take into confidence the residents of the area in this regard.
As many as 22 panchayats of the affected areas participated in a recent meeting held at Barot to chalk out the future strategy to hold a protest march at Padhar, Jogindernagar and Chauntra. It was also decided to submit a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, and the SDM, Jogindernagar, and Padhar in support of their demands.
Gopal Krishan Awasthi, president of the samiti, said that the agitating people were demanding that the NHAI should follow the original alignment drawn in 2018. He also distributed copies of the old and new alignments to mediapersons. He added that as per the original plan, the initial alignment of the package 4 was to pass through a green field area with minimum excavation, smooth gradient and no landslide risk. However, the NHAI suddenly altered the alignment in 2022, citing concerns about landslides, large excavation and the sinking zone, which was far from the truth.
Awasthi said that the original alignment of 2018 did not present any risk, as suggested by the NHAI. He added that the report of a geologist, who was associated with the project, had also approved the original alignment.
He said that the new alignment finalised by the NHAI in 2022 went through a sinking zone falling in Pandhu Dhar where the land had sunk by two metres during the rainy season. Besides, the new alignment (2022) also involved large areas of reserve forests and felling of green trees needed various environment clearances from the Central Government.
He said that if the NHAI had followed the new alignment, it would have impacted around three lakh people residing in places like Jogindernagar, Chauntra, Sukbag, Hara Bag, Urla and Galu. The original alignment also connected Bir and Billing, one of the top paragliding sites in the world.
Awasthi said that the cost of the construction of a road through the original alignment (2018) was estimated at Rs 700 crore while if the new alignment (2022) was followed, it would be over Rs 2,200 crore. Likewise, the cost of land acquisition, as per the original alignment, would be Rs 120 crore while as per the 2022 alignment, it would be Rs 260 crore. He added that as per the old alignment, there would be no tunnel, while in the new alignment, two tunnels had been proposed.
