Vertical cutting of hill slopes caused landslides: Himachal minister Vikramaditya Singh

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Shimla, August 3

Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Vikramaditya Singh said today that some stretches of the Kullu-Manali and Shimla-Chandigarh highways would need realignment to stop recurring landslides and blockades.

The minister, while addressing mediapersons here, said, “Due to vertical cutting of hill slopes, boulders and debris roll down during the rainy season and one of the lanes gets obstructed. The NHAI has constituted a team to study these sections of the highways and suggest if the problem can be sorted out by cutting slopes at 45 degrees or by additional spraying of concrete or building retaining walls.”

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“We need to work in a scientific way in future because road building involves thousands of crores of rupees. Whenever long-term redevelopment starts, we will need to keep all scientific aspects in mind and work accordingly so that we don’t face such disasters in future,” he said.

The minister said that his department had prepared a detailed report of the damaged bridges in Kullu and Mandi districts. “We will send these reports to the Central Government so that we get the due relief and the restoration work begins without delay,” he added.

Vikramaditya said that 330 roads in several parts of the state were still obstructed. “We will clear 196 roads in the next four days if there are no further landslides,” he added. — TNS