Debris piles up along Parwanoo-Solan stretch on NH-22

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, July 21

Debris rolling down the excavated hills on the under-construction National Highway (NH)-22 has made driving risky on the Parwanoo-Solan portion of the highway.

As this highway is being four-laned, large-scale excavation of the hill is on by the staff of private company GR Infraprojects. 

The hillside is fragile at places and breast walls of 1.5 metre to 3 metre height have proved insufficient in containing the erosion of earth from the excavated hill.  

Breast walls are the masonry structures that support hill slopes along a road.

A major landslide occurred at Dharampur on Saturday where several trees uprooted from the excavated hill fell on the road and obstructed traffic for nearly an hour. Boulders rolling down the slope also damaged the breast walls. As many as four cars parked on the road were buried under the debris. 

The landslide is also posing a threat to a CRPF staff quarters above the affected site.

A visit to the four-laned road revealed a huge amount of debris falling incessantly  near Chakki Mor.

The staff were regularly removing the debris and signboards warning the motorists about falling boulders have come up.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is yet to resolve the issue of additional funds to GR Infraprojects to raise higher breast walls. The issue has been before the NHAI for almost a year. In the absence of additional funds, GR Infraprojects has continued to construct 1.5m-3m walls, which have failed to provide protection.

Additional DM Vivek Chandel said directions had been given to GR Infraprojects to keep round-the-clock watch.

Devasis Patra, project incharge, GR Infraprojects, said special teams, along with machinery, have been deputed at the vulnerable sites.

Landslide location
Dharampur

Stretch
200m

Stranded 
Dozens of vehicles for an hour

Damage
4 cars
parked on road buried under the debris