Palampur-Mandi highway widening restricted to 2 lanes

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, December 10

The NHAI has made major changes in its original detailed project report (DPR) for the 219-km strategic Pathankot-Mandi highway widening project that links Pathankot with Leh.

The project is being executed in five phases. The construction of the first phase is in the final stage. Now, a 110-km stretch of the highway beyond Palampur will have only two lanes. Originally, four lanes were proposed.

New alignment

• In another change, out of the 110-km stretch beyond Palampur, an 80-km stretch will have a new alignment.
• The NHAI will not use the old narrow Pathankot-Mandi highway passing through Palampur, Baijnath and Joginder Nagar

Avoiding cutting of hills

• Now the road project has been curtailed to two lanes instead of four in high mountain areas to avoid environmental degradation and cutting of hills
• The entire stretch is dotted with high mountains which are prone to landslides during monsoons
• Besides the volume of traffic on this stretch is also low, which was not the qualifying standard for a four-lane road project

Earlier, the NHAI was expected to construct four lanes up to Mandi. However, the NHAI, after a meeting between Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Union Surface and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, has agreed to Sukhu’s request. It has awarded the work for one package of 22 km between Padhar and Bijni for Rs 400 crore to a private company for the construction of a two-lane highway. As per NHAI sources, phases III, IV and V of the project have now been restricted to two lanes instead of four lanes between Palampur and Mandi.

A senior officer of the NHAI, while talking to The Tribune, says after the recent flash floods, the NHAI suffered heavy damages to its highways in the state. Therefore, there the road project has been curtailed to two lanes in high mountain areas to avoid environmental degradation and cutting of hills, as the entire stretch is dotted with high mountains which are prone to landslides during monsoons. Besides, as per the reports procured by the NHAI, the volume of traffic on this stretch is also low, which was not the qualifying standard for a four-lane road project.

Also, out of 110 km, an 80-km stretch will have new alignment and the NHAI will not use the old narrow Pathankot-Mandi highway passing through various towns such as Palampur, Baijnath, Paprola, Chauntra, Jogindernagar, Gumma and Harbag. The NHAI will strive for minimum cutting of hills and dislocation of business establishments, which will further reduce the cost of land and the amount of compensation to be paid to the affected persons.