Palampur-Hamirpur highway widening report to be sent to Centre

Palampur, June 23

The state Public Works Department has prepared detailed project reports (DPR) for the widening of the 70-km Palampur-Hamirpur highway into two lanes.

The DPRs have been prepared in two parts and the project would be executed by the Hamirpur and Palampur circles of the Public Works Department.

PWD Superintendent Engineer (Palampur circle) Bhag Mal Thakur, while talking to The Tribune, said the DPR for the road between Palampur-Alampur had been prepared by the Palampur circle, while the DPR for road between Sujanpur and Hamirpur had been prepared by the Hamirpur circle.

The DPRs were under scrutiny and would be submitted to the Government of India through the state government soon for the allocation of funds under Central Government-sponsored schemes.

The estimated cost for the widening of the road is over Rs 150 crores.

The major part of the road (over 50 km) falls within the Palampur circle of the PWD, according to Thakur.

He said the Chief Minister was taking keen interest in the widening of the highway, and had therefore directed the PWD to convert the highway into two lanes at earliest due to it being an important road of the state.

It may be recalled that the Palampur-Hamirpur state highway is one of the busiest roads that links Palampur to Shimla, Chandigarh, Delhi, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Shimla and Una. The road has been in need of immediate widening, keeping in view the high volume of traffic.

Besides, the opening of the Kiratpur-Manali four-lane road has made this route one of the shortest routes to reach Chandigarh from Palampur, Baijnath, etc. The distance between Palampur and Chandigarh also reduces by 65 km if one follows the Palampur-Hamirpur, Ghumarwin-Kiratpur route to reach Chandigarh.

Despite the fact that there has been a manifold increase in traffic, the width of the highway has remained the same as 30 years ago. No steps had previously been taken by the state government to either widen the highway or get it recognised as a national highway by the Central Government. In 2017, the state road was declared a national highway by the Government of India, however, the notification was later withdrawn.