Una-Nadaun stretch peels off within months of tarring

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, October 30

The national highway number 03 leading from Amb in Una district to Nadaun in Harmirpur district is in a poor state despite the fact that crores were spent on the road in October and November 2019. The newly laid road has worn out at most of the stretches, causing inconvenience to commuters.

Thousands of pilgrims coming to Jwalamukhi temple in Kangra from Punjab use the road. The stretch was also used by people travelling from Hamirpur district to Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar areas of Punjab.

Arun Kumar, a regular commuter on the road, while talking to The Tribune, said that travelling on the road was no less than a nightmare. It was dangerous to use the stretch at night as it had developed huge potholes on the entire stretch. Many accidents had taken place on the route. It was ironical that after spending crores on the roa, its condition had worsened.

Naresh Kumar, a resident of Nehrian, a famous pilgrim site along the road, said the condition of the road was better before the authorities tarred it recently. The road was in good condition barring a few patches that were prone to landslides. However, ever since the department laid fresh bitumen on the road, its condition had worsened. The bitumen that was laid in winters last year had come off creating bad patches on the entire stretch. The department should order an inquiry into the poor laying of road, he said.

Superintendent Engineer, national highways, Arun Pathania, when contacted, said the road had peeled off at many places due to some technical fault while laying. “We are also surprised as to why the road has peeled off at so many places. We have asked to the contractor who had constructed the road to repair it at his own cost,” he said.

When asked how much amount was spent on last tarring of the road, the SE said data on it would be available with the executive engineer. The executive engineer, national highways, Hamirpur, when contacted, said he had joined recently and the road was constructed during the stint of his predecessor.

He said in case the road got damaged within three years of tarring, the onus of repairing it was on the contractor concerned.

However, residents have alleged that in the name of repairing the road, the department is resorting to patch work on the national highway. They are demanding that action should be taken against the contractor for constructing poor quality road and the officials who were supervising the construction work should also be held accountable for the wastage of public funds.