Pathankot-Mandi highway a nightmare for motorists

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, January 16

The 10-km stretch on the Pathankot-Mandi highway between Thakurdwara and Banuri passing through Palampur has turned into a death trap.

The highway is full of potholes, making journey a nightmare for commuters. Conditions are worse near Maranda and Banuri village where many accidents have taken place in three month.

The NHAI is unconcerned with the situation, as no steps have been initiated to repair the road. It seems that the NHAI is waiting for a tragedy to happen.

The condition of the road has become from bad to worse on this stretch since the NHAI has taken over its maintenance. When the PWD was looking after it, the condition was much better.

The control of the highway was given to the NHAI without looking into the facts that it had no technical staff to maintain the road. After the rainy season, no repair was undertaken by the NHAI in the past four months, which has made the condition of the road worse.

The highway is among one of the most significant roads and links Pathankot with Leh via Kullu-Manali. After disturbed conditions in Jammu and Kashmir, this road has become more importance because the Army uses it to carry essential supplies to Leh and other border areas.

A senior officer of the NHAI said that repair and maintenance of road had been awarded to a contractor, but because of winters, the repair works could not be undertaken.