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Dipender Manta
Residents of Ani and Nirmand are desperately waiting for the construction of the tunnel beneath the 10,800-ft high Jalori Pass in the region on NH-305, which will provide all-weather connectivity between Kullu and Ani/Nirmand round the year.
Due to high altitude, Jalori Pass receives considerable snowfall during the winter every year, which cuts off residents of 58 gram panchayats of Ani and Nirmand from the main district headquarters — Kullu, for months. It forces them to travel 220-270 km extra to visit Kullu via Shimla or Karsog, which makes their journey tedious and expensive. The Jalori Pass tunnel becomes a major poll issue in Kullu district, but even after several years, no progress has been made on ground so far, say residents.
The project (construction of 4.2 km tunnel under Jalori Pass) was announced during the Congress regime in 2014, but the DPR has not been prepared. During the last Lok Sabha election, BJP and the Congress candidates promised to construct the tunnel, but even after coming to power, the project still hangs fire.
With snow blocking the Kullu-Jalori-Ani road, people either risk their lives by crossing the pass on foot during emergency or are required to take another route via Shimla or Karsog, which takes more than 8 hours. The road here is dangerous with sharp turns, steep climbs and is prone to landslides. Residents have been demanding a tunnel beneath the pass, but no party has been able to fulfil their demand. They said only surveys have been conducted and no progress has been made in this direction.
Jitender Kumar, a resident of Ani, said the tunnel issue has turned into a poll gimmick only to lure voters. The candidates of both BJP and Congress parties mention the project and promise to fulfil it on a priority during election for the benefit of people, but after coming to power, they forget about it.
Budhi Singh Thakur, District Congress Committee president, Kullu, said: “Last year, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had announced to start the construction of the Rohtang tunnel within six months during his visit to Ani, but after one year, no progress has been made in this direction.” In December last year, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur informed the state Assembly that Rs 2 crore has been sanctioned for the feasibility study, detailed engineering and land acquisition for the proposed tunnel under Jalori Pass on the National Highway-305 in Kullu district.
In reply to a question raised by Ani MLA Kishori Lal, he said the 4.2 km tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to Ani sub-division of Kullu, besides inter-connecting remote parts of Mandi, Shimla and Kullu. The Himachal Pradesh Government had submitted a rough estimate worth Rs 6.36 crore for hiring consultant and inviting tenders to the Centre for approval.
After approval, the government will invite bids for the appointment of consultant, who will prepare a detailed project report of the tunnel.
Ramswaroop Sharma, BJP MP from Mandi parliamentary constituency, said: “I have taken up the matter with the Central government and efforts are on to approve the project for the purpose. It was a long-pending demand of the people in the region and will be fulfilled on a priority.”