Sanwara toll plaza closed till Parwanoo road is restored

Solan, August 5

Manmohan Sharma, District Magistrate-cum-Chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority, today ordered the closure of a toll plaza at Sanwara in Dharampur tehsil till the Parwanoo-Solan stretch of the Chandigarh-Shimla national highway-5 was reopened for vehicular traffic.

The highway has been damaged at several places between Solan and Parwanoo and is blocked at Koti owing to heavy rain since August 2 but still people were being charged toll for using the highway.

Chandigarh-Manali road restored

• Mandi: Traffic on the Chandigarh-Manali highway was restored between Mandi and Pandoh around 9 am on Saturday. The highway was blocked at 6 Miles on Friday evening following a landslide
• The NHAI could not start restoration work immediately during night and started removing debris Saturday morning. Till the highway was blocked, Mandi-Kullu traffic was diverted via Kataula. TNS

The orders stated that vehicular traffic had been diverted through arterial roads to enable the repair and restoration of the highway. “Residents of several gram panchayats have requested the district administration to discontinue toll collection as the highway is damaged at several locations. It could lead to a law and order situation, as residents are opposing the collection of toll at Sanwara. Their concerns have also been highlighted in the media,” said Sharma.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was apprised of the issue when he visited the district recently to review the damage caused to the highway.

A private company is collecting toll on behalf of the National Highways Authority of India since April 2021. Though the Parwanoo-Dharampur road was closed for traffic, locals travelling on the highway up to Koti had to pay toll. The lane along the hillside is closed at most of the places owing to large-scale debris, uprooted trees and boulders.

Earlier, it was announced that the Parwanoo-Dharampur stretch of the Shimla highway will remain closed for two more days as a 250-metre portion of the road is sinking due to falling of mounds of earth on it from hills at Chakki Mor.