Traffic restored on Parwanoo-Solan NH

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, August 14

Vehicular traffic was restored on the Parwanoo-Solan stretch of National Highway (NH)-22 where a series of landslides led to closure of the lane abutting the hill slope.

According to an estimate, more than 1.5 lakh cubic meter hill has been eroded in this rainy season between Parwanoo and Solan where the four-laning work was underway. Men and machinery are engaged in clearing the debris from various sites, informed officials of the GR Infraprojects, the agency which was engaged in four-laning the highway.

The traffic movement was hit as only a single lane was operational and even an ambulance had a tough time passing through the traffic around in the afternoon.

A major damage has been caused around the Chakki-ka-Mor where a periphery of nearly one km had suffered massive landslides along with uprooting of several trees. Additional labour and machinery have been pressed into service to clear the debris.

A major portion of the hill near Timber Trail Resort had also given way and a large chunk of debris on a stretch of nearly 50 m had fallen on the road.  At places, even the concrete cement structures raised along the hill to protect the excavated hill had been eroded and could be seen hanging from the slope. This has put a question mark on the technique adopted by the private company to protect the hill.

In view of the large volume of traffic which passes through this highway, the District Magistrate notified a new traffic plan. According to the orders all heavy good carrying transport vehicles and passenger buses going to Chandigarh, Ambala, Dehradun, Haridwar and Delhi will ply via Kumarhatti-Naina Tikker-Sarahan-Naina Tikker-Kumarhatti route. All heavy goods transport vehicles and passenger buses coming from these places will ply via Kala Amb-Nahan-Sarahan-Naina-Tikker-Kumarhatti route. The police has been directed to divert traffic on this route during emergency so that the traffic influx on NH-22 could be controlled and there were no traffic jams , informed ADM Vivek Chandel.

Single lane traffic plan for NH-22

In view of the large volume of traffic which passes through this highway, the District Magistrate notified a new traffic plan. According to the orders all heavy good carrying transport vehicles and passenger buses going to Chandigarh, Ambala, Dehradun, Haridwar and Delhi will ply via Kumarhatti-Naina Tikker-Sarahan-Naina Tikker-Kumarhatti route. All heavy goods transport vehicles and passenger buses coming from these places will ply via Kala Amb-Nahan-Sarahan-Naina-Tikker-Kumarhatti route.