Torrential rains, landslides snap road connectivity to Chamba, Kangra

Torrential rain before noon wreaked havoc in Himachal Pradesh today as two main roads linking Chowari sub‑divisional headquarters with Chamba, the neighboring Nurpur subdivision in Kangra district and Pathankot in Punjab were severed. On the 5‑kilometre Lahru-Chowari link road, a 100‑metre stretch was badly damaged. Similarly, the Chowari-Chamba road via Jot has also snapped due to damage near Kut in Chowari.

Owing to massive damage to these link roads, Chowari subdivision has lost connectivity with other parts of the state. Lahru-Chowari link road is a lifeline for the residents of this subdivision as it connects Kangra and Pathankot districts — from where daily supply of essential commodities is received. Apart from this, medical emergency services — for shifting patients in Tanda Medical College, Kangra, and Punjab’s hospitals — have also been badly impacted. This inter-district road is the shortest route for Chamba residents to travel to Kangra and the rest of the state via the Jot-Chowari road. However, now they will have to travel long distances via the Pathankot-Dunera or Draman-Sihunta roads.

The only alternate route for commuting from Chowari to Kangra and Pathankot districts is the Chowari-Raipur-Lahru route — which is also landslide prone and has remained closed due to landslides at multiple locations.

Executive Engineer, Public Works Department (PWD), Chowari, Narinder Chowdhary, told The Tribune that department machinery has been deployed to restore the affected roads. He added that the restoration of Chowari-Lahru link road was not possible as it had suffered massive damage — a part of the road had sunk due to land erosion as a flooded rivulet passes beneath the road.