Manali national highway section to be operational from May 1

Hamirpur, March 3

The section of the Kiratpur-Manali four-lane highway falling in Bilaspur district will be made operational from May 1. This was stated by Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussain Sadik after visiting the stretch of the highway falling in the district on Thursday.

When operational, the highway will reduce the distance between Bilaspur and Chandigarh by 35 km and between Hamirpur and Chandigarh by 45 km. The DC inspected the progress of the construction work of the highway and five major tunnels on the way between Kainchi Mode and the border with Mandi district.

The Deputy Commisioner said the work on the four-lane project was in final stage. Over 92 per cent work had been completed and the remaining would be done by the end of next month.

Officers of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have been advised to complete the work within the stipulated time, he said. He added that 22 major and 15 small bridges have been constructed on this section of the highway while three bridges were under construction and would be ready in time.

Meanwhile, villagers living along the highway apprised the Deputy Commissioner of the problems they were facing due to the lackadaisical attitude of the construction company undertaking the highway work. It was alleged that the company had ignored even basic maintenance of roads damaged due to construction work. They also alleged violations in pollution control norms while undertaking the construction.