Short runway of Bhunter airport, bad roads poll issues

Tribune News Service

Dipender Manta

Mandi, October 25

Despite Kullu-Manali being one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state, poor air connectivity, bad roads, lack of parking and other basic infrastructure are hampering tourism promotion. All these issues, which have been raised by the stakeholders before the authorities concerned on several occasions, are sure to emerge election planks this time.

There are over 1,000 hotels and over 300 homestays in and around Kullu-Manali. The people associated with the tourism industry have been demanding extension of the airstrip at Bhuntar airport for a long time to attract high-end tourists. Due to short runway, big aircraft cannot land at the airport. As a result, tourists visiting Kullu-Manali have to pay exorbitant airfare of about Rs 20,000 to travel between Kullu and Delhi. The successive governments have failed to address this issue.

A team of senior officials of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation carried out a survey on March 6, 2021, to explore the possibility of the runway extension. But after the survey, no further progress has been made.

Poor condition of Chandigarh-Manali highway is also a major issue. The delay in the completion of the road has irked the stakeholders in the tourism industry. Apart from this, Manali suffers from lack of adequate parking lots. Due to inadequate parking spaces, the town witnesses frequent traffic jams during the peak tourist season.

Anup Thakur, president of the Kullu-Manali Paryatan Vikas Mandal, said, “The air connectivity can attract high-end tourists to Kullu-Manali but no government has tried to improve it.”

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