Widening of Bhuntar bridge sought to check traffic blues

Tribune News Service

Mandi, November 20

Local residents have demanded double-laning of Bhuntar bridge in Kullu district to check traffic congestion in Bhuntar bazaar.

The bridge connects Kullu-Manali with the Mankaran valley in Kullu district. It experiences heavy traffic jams during summer and winter seasons, when tourists make a beeline for Kullu-Manali.

The people of Bhuntar bazaar are the worst sufferers due to long traffic jams. Hence, they have urged the state government to construct a new double-lane bridge to check traffic congestion.

Megh Singh, a local resident, said that long traffic jams at Bhuntar bazaar create noise pollution besides degrading environment of the area because of the pollutants and fumes from petrol and diesel-run vehicles.

The matter has been taken up with the state governments several times but nothing has been done so far to resolve the problem.

Mahender Thakur, another resident of Bhuntar said, “Kullu-Manali is a famous tourist spot in Himachal Pradesh, which sees a heavy tourist inflow round the year. The inflow of tourist vehicles remains high in the area, especially during peak tourist season. The narrow bridge is incapable of handling such a large number of vehicles. Hence a new double-lane bridge was the need of the hour.”

A few days back, the people of area had staged a big protest at Bhuntar to raise their voice.

They had submitted a memorandum to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to look into the issue and do needful.

Kullu MLA Sunder Singh Thakur said, “I had taken up the matter with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and also raised it in the Vidhan Sabha. The NHAI informed in its reply that the bridge came under the PWD national highway authority.”

“I am waiting for reply from the state government. If the government does something then it is fine otherwise, I will move the high court”, he remarked.