Debris, boulders block Paonta-Gumma road

Solan, December 11

The Paonta Sahib – Shillai- Gumma National Highway- 707 was blocked at Shilla village in Kafota subdivision of Sirmaur district this morning after big chunk of debris and boulders flowed down on the road from the hill. Vehicular traffic was halted for several hours.

Widening of the road was underway. This led to loosening of the hill strata, causing the mishap.

A government middle school at Shilla village was partially damaged as big boulders damaged its pillars. The school was closed when the incident happened.

Vehicles were lined up on both sides of the closed highway. Residents were angry as they were inconvenienced and had to struggle hard to reach the other side of the road. No teaching work could take place in the school during the day.

Residents rued that the private company widening the road had failed to open the road even after three hours which caused hardships to commuters.

Sub Divisional Magistrate Kafota Rakesh Verma, who reached the spot, said that the private company engaged in widening the road has been directed to remove the debris at the earliest to restore vehicular traffic. They have also been directed to safely remove the loosely hanging boulders on the hill to ensure safety of commuters.

The excavation of the highway comprising fragile strata has become a major challenge for the private company widening the road as landslides occur every now and then.