Rs 200 cr for Sumdoh-Gramphu road

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, June 14

The Centre has approved Rs 200 crore for the maintenance of strategically important Sumdoh-Kaza-Gramphu road in tribal district Lahaul Spiti, which is in a bad condition for the past many years.

Recently, the state government had taken over this road from the The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) as the organisation did not have adequate funds for its maintenance.

Talking to The Tribune, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said, “The state government was facing difficulty in maintaining this road for the past many years as the BRO did not have adequate funds. As a result, the road was in bad shape and people of Lahaul Spiti were suffering.”

Lack of funds to blame

The state government was facing difficulty in maintaining this road for the past many years as the BRO did not have adequate funds. As a result, the road reamined in bad shape, troubling people of Lahaul Spiti. —Jai Ram Thakur, Chief Minister

The Chief Minister said, “The reason behind the takeover was to get adequate funds from the Centre for the road’s maintenance so that its condition could be improved. The government is also planning to take over the Sansari-Kelar-Thirot-Tandi road in Lahaul Spiti from the BRO so that adequate funds were available for its maintenance.”

Agriculture Minister Ram Lal Markanda said, “The state government has got approval of Rs 200 crore from the Centre. The road would be maintained by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is planning to construct a tunnel beneath the 15,000-feet-high Kunzum Pass to provide all-weather connectivity to the region.”

“The Kunzum Pass gets blocked for more than seven months every year due to heavy snowfall.

A survey would be conducted soon to check the feasibility of construction of tunnel under the Pass,” said the Agriculture Minister.

However, there is strong resentment among the people of the Spiti valley against their own MLA, Ram Lal Markanda, for taking over the road from BRO as they are apprehensive that the state government machinery might not be fully equipped to maintain it.

Road to open today after 7 months

Mandi: The HP Public Works Department (PWD) authorities, Kaza, has restored the Sumdoh-Kaza- Gramphu road in tribal district Lahaul Spiti on Saturday, after a gap of seven months. However, late Saturday night, a big boulder came rolling down from the hill side near Gramphu and blocked the road again. It is expected that the road would be opened for traffic on Monday. The road was blocked for traffic last year in November and cut off Spiti residents from Manali for several months. — TNS