Travel on Mandi-Rewalsar road a nightmare

Dipender Manta
Tribune News Service
Mandi, October 20

The narrow and steep Mandi-Rewalsar-Kalkhar road needs widening for smooth flow of traffic. The 29-km road has big potholes at several points, making the journey tedious and bumpy.

During summers, the number of tourist vehicles increases manifold from Jahu and Mandi to Rewalsar, which is a tourist hotspot in Mandi district. This place is also known as Triveni because people of three religions — the Hindu, the Buddhist and the Sikh — have been living here cordially since long.

The people of the area rue that due to government apathy, the widening of the road has been hanging fire for many years. They said several memorandums had been given to the government but there was no development.

Om Prakash, a resident of Rewalsar, told The Tribune: “Their growth depends on the better road connectivity but unfortunately the authorities have paid no heed to it. During the peak tourist season, tourists are stuck in long traffic jams because the road is narrow.”

Pawan Thakur, Block Development Committee (BDC) member of Riuer and Sadvar panchayats, said, “The road has not been maintained by the PWD. We urge the state government to approve funds for the widening of the road. It will boost the tourist influx in the region,” he said.

KK Sharma, XEN, PWD, said: “A DPR of the road widening has been prepared and Rs 150-crore budget approved by the World Bank.”