Residents seek repair of Bhuntar-Manikaran road

Our Correspondent

Kullu, May 5

A delegation from Parbati valley, headed by BJP leader Narotam Singh, yesterday submitted a memorandum to Kullu DC regarding the slow progress of the repair work on the Bhuntar-Manikaran road. Singh said it takes around six hours to travel between Bhuntar and Manikaran (35 km) due to the pathetic condition of the road.

He said, "The road was severely damaged at many places during floods in July last year and most of the damaged stretches were not fully repaired. It was risky to commute through many such points and frequent traffic jams were also witnessed on the road."

The leader said, "Even the buses are not plying beyond Jari towards the famous religious and tourist town, Manikaran, as the road had become risky to commute after the portion of the road caved in near Dunkhra village on March 29. The tourist season has commenced and businessmen of the region were facing heavy losses."

He added that tourists travel to Kasol and Manikaran in private luxury buses, but these were not able to go beyond Jari, which is 13 km from Manikaran. He said many tourists are forced to return mid-way after being stuck in traffic jams for hours.

Singh alleged that the state government and the Public Works Department were not paying attention to the issue of bad roads, claiming that the local people themselves were repairing roads and bridges at many places.

He said, "The fruit season has also started and the farmers were suffering losses and hassles due to the pitiable condition of the road."

He said the residents were a harried lot as the condition of the road had turned from bad to worse and nobody was concerned about its maintenance. "If the repair work is not expedited, the people would have to resort to agitation and also observe hunger strikes," he said.

Satish, a resident of Manikaran, said, "The condition of the road will deteriorate in the rainy season if the repair work is not carried out soon. The public will have to face problems because of the apathy of the government and the PWD." He added that thousands of pilgrims and tourists, including many foreigners, visited the valley and have to face inconvenience.

Residents said they had been demanding the improvement and widening of the road for a long time, but successive governments had only provided them assurances. They alleged that many major fatal mishaps had occurred due to the bad condition of the road.

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