Portion of Rohtang highway caves in

Our Correspondent

KULLU, AUGUST 8

A portion of the Manali-Rohtang road caved in near Vashisht Chowk near Manali in the wee hours today due to the flooding of the Beas. However, the road was later opened to traffic. The river changed its course near Vashisht Chowk, threatening the houses on the banks of the river.

Manali SDM Surender Thakur said that the Beas was in spate and a portion of the road caved in. The houses adjacent to the river had been vacated. The administration had alerted the people from Palchan to Patlikuhl. The authorities concerned had been directed to repair the spot on priority.

Kullu DC Ashutosh Garg said that all blocked locations on Aut-Luhri NH 305, except the Kot Nullah, had been restored for vehicular movement. The passengers were being ferried by boats at Kot Nullah and buses and taxis were available on both sides.

An alternative route through Anni-Shawad-Kothi-Khanag-Jalori Jot can be used in case of emergency. He advised that travel on this route should be postponed as it would take a couple of days to restore the Kot Nullah spot. He said that Kullu-Kandi-Kataula road, which was blocked due to a landslide at Tihri, had been restored for small vehicles.

The Neuli-Shar road of Sainj valley has been closed for vehicular movement due to sinking of the road near Row village. The villagers said that huge cracks had developed near the culvert. The horticulturists are worried as the apple season is going on in the valley.

They said that the road should be restored at the earliest or else they will suffer huge losses. A resident Girdhari said that the masses of Dehuridhar panchayat have to walk several miles on foot due to the closure of the road. He said that the elderly and patients were the worst sufferers.

Due to the ongoing rainy season, the mountainous roads witness frequent landslides, disrupting traffic. Yesterday, traffic on 26 link roads was disrupted in the district. The horticulturists of various areas alleged that the condition of many roads of rural areas was pitiable. Many roads were filled with slush and it was risky to transport their fruits to the marketing yards.

Many orchardists rued that they were unable to take their produce in time to the fruit markets due to bad roads. The residents Dhyan Singh, Govind Ram and Dharampal said that while most of the population in the state was settled in the rural areas, but the condition of most of the rural roads was miserable. The road network in rural areas should be improved on priority, they demanded.

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