Damaged due to landslides, Bhattiyat-Nurpur link road in a shambles

A 5-km stretch of the narrow Lahru-Chowari road connecting the neighbouring Bhattiyat Assembly constituency in Chamba district to Nurpur subdivision in Kangra district and Pathankot district in Punjab is in a deplorable condition. The stretch was badly damaged due to massive landslides and subsidence in August 2022 and during the monsoon season this year. It has now become an accident-prone zone, especially a 400-metre stretch at Bhrampla. Being fragile in nature, this road stretch has become prone to landslides and subsidence.

This road serves as a lifeline for the residents of Chowari subdivision in Chamba district but due to frequent landslides and the lack of repairs, it has become a nightmare for commuters and vehicle drivers, especially two-wheeler riders. It is a primary route for the supply of essential commodities in the Bhattiyat valley. The Public Works Department (PWD) had repaired this road stretch several times after it was damaged due to landslides and subsidence but no permanent solution had been found. This road stretch lacks bitumen surfacing, parapets or crash barriers and is very risky for first-time visitors travelling in their own vehicles. This kutcha road stretch welcomes motorists with a cloud of dust.

In the absence of any roadside protection, plying of vehicles is risky. This road stretch has high hills on one side and deep gorges on the other. Frequent landslides have narrowed the road stretch, which is the shortest route for the residents of Chamba district travelling to Kangra district and the rest of the state via the Jot-Chowari road. This link road reduces the distance to Chamba to around 40 km and is also being used by tourists travelling on the Lahru-Chowari-Jot-Chamba road.

Residents of Chowari have demanded immediate repair, resurfacing of the damaged road with bitumen and roadside safety measures. Commuters, who travel on this road regularly, have appealed to the PWD to identify black spots where no roadside protection work had been done in the past and install crash barriers to avert accidents.

Abhishek Chambial, Neeraj Sehgal, Vivek Thakur, Ajay Kumar and Sahil Sharma, who commute on this stretch regularly, say that the state government has neglected this link road. Narinder Choudhary, Executive Engineer, PWD division, Chowari, says that a detailed project report (DPR) of ‘landslide mitigation’ for the stabilisation of the landslide-prone stretch on the Lahru-Chowari link road at Bhrampla had been submitted to the State Disaster Management Authority in October 2023 but the financial approval was still awaited. “The PWD will shortly repair the damaged road stretch and undertake bitumen surfacing on it in March next year,” he added.