Poor state of NH a blow to Manali tourism industry

Dipender Manta

Mandi, August 14

The poor condition of the Chandigarh-Manali highway has given a big blow to the tourism industry of Kullu and Manali towns. The road stretch from Mandi to Aut is full of potholes.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is undertaking four-laning work of the Kiratpur-Manali highway. The work, however, is going on at a snail’s pace. Frequent landslides keep blocking the highway causing long traffic jams, leaving tourists stranded for hours.

Hoteliers rue that the bad condition of this highway is adversely affecting tourism industry in the Kullu district. They say that there is a need to speed up the four-laning work of the highway.

Anup Thakur, president of the Kullu-Manali Paryatan Vikas Mandal, says, “The room occupancy in hotels of Kullu-Manali has dipped which is a setback for the tourism industry. The poor condition of the Chandigarh-Manali highway is a huge disadvantage.”

“There is a need to strengthen air connectivity to Kullu. Air service should be introduced on subsidised rates under the Udan Yojana. We have been requesting the state and the Central governments to strengthen air connectivity at Bhuntar airport by expanding its airstrip. Despite several pleas, no progress has been made in this direction,” he said.

Gajender Thakur, president of the Forum of Hotel and Restaurant Association, demanded that the government should ask the NHAI to speed up the work. “Kullu-Manali is an internationally famed tourist destination. The state government should focus on the connectivity issue as the tourism industry is providing livelihood to hundreds of families,” he added.