Torrential rains snap lifeline roads to Chamba & Kangra

Torrential rains before noon wreaked havoc in Himachal Pradesh today, snapping two vital road links connecting Chowari subdivisional headquarters to Chamba district headquarters and neighbouring Kangra and Pathankot districts.

A 100-metre stretch of the 5-km Lahru–Chowari road was severely damaged midway, making it impassable. Simultaneously, the alternate Chowari–Chamba road via Jot was also blocked near Kut due to road damage, cutting off the region’s main connectivity routes.

As a result, Chowari subdivision now stands isolated from the rest of the state. The Lahru–Chowari road is particularly critical as it serves as a lifeline for the daily supply of essential commodities from Kangra and Punjab. Moreover, emergency medical access to Tanda Medical College in Kangra and hospitals in Pathankot has also been gravely impacted.

The inter-district Chowari– Jot–Chamba road is the shortest and most frequently used route for Chamba residents travelling towards Kangra and beyond. With both main roads blocked, residents now face detours through longer routes such as Pathankot– Dunera or Draman–Sihunta, significantly increasing travel time and effort.

The only alternative route left, Chowari-Raipur-Lahru, is also unreliable. Landslide-prone and treacherous, this road too has remained closed following multiple slides triggered by the downpour. Commuters are forced to travel an additional 25 km to reach Chowari, further compounding the inconvenience.

Executive Engineer of the PWD Chowari Division, Narinder Chowdhary, told The Tribune that the landslide-affected Chowari– Raipur–Lahru and Chowari– Jot–Chamba link roads would be restored soon, as departmental machinery had been pressed into service. He added that the restoration of the Chowari–Lahru link road, which had suffered massive damage, would take more time. Around a 100-metre stretch of this road had sunk due to land erosion caused by a flooded rivulet flowing beneath it, he said.

Local residents—Abhishek Chambial, Sahil Sharma, Sanjay, and Hitesh Bedi—expressed anguish over the disruption. They urged the state government to find a lasting solution, recalling a similar incident in August 2022, when the Lahru-Chowari road remained severed for weeks due to landslides that wiped out road stretches.