Cloudburst blocks Manali-Chandigarh highway

MANALI: A

cloudburst

near Bran village, 10km from Manali, around 2.25am on Wednesday. While debris blocked the Chandigarh-Manali highway for over 6 hours with debris, many roads, bridges and vehicles were damaged.


“We felt strong tremors around midnight and rushed out of our houses. Then we heard the sound of boulders rolling down the hill along Bran

Nullah

. We realized that there had been a cloudburst atop the hill. We started blowing whistles to alert other villagers. This went on for more than half an hour. Around 3am, we went to the spot and found thousands of tonnes of debris all around,” said

Chaman Lal

Sharma, a Bran resident.

The cloudburst damaged six cars, one motorcycle, two foot bridges, two motorable bridges, Bran-Dobha village and Bran-Brahman Behad link roads, private and forest land, drinking water supply lines and a public path. The flood also damaged part of the national highway. More than 40 vehicles have been stranded in Dobha and Bran villages. Families of Prithi Chand and Bir Singh, who live close to the nullah, ran for life after the cloudburst. A new road to the village, which was under construction, has been completely damaged. A similar cloudburst took place in 1993.

The cloudburst also exposed the quality of work done by the National Highway Authority of Indian (NHAI), as the protection wall of the road built to shield it from the Beas river has been damaged. Unscientific road cutting at 18 Mile on

Manali-Chandigarh highway

also poses a threat to the entire village.

Village resident Bhupender Bhardwaj said, “Flood water and debris of the cloudburst enter the village along the highway. We requested the district administration to protect the village with concrete walls, using a letter and photographs to press the point. But no action was taken. We are worried about what will happen in case of a spate in the Beas. NHAI, with the help of its contractor, has excavated the protective landscape and built a temporary wall.”

Although the national highway was opened partially, one-way traffic caused a long traffic jam, especially with vehicles getting stuck in the debris. The area at Kalath village on the national highway, which witnessed a massive landslide on Monday evening, is sliding again. Vehicles are moving on the highway under the sliding debris.

Manali sub-divisional magistrate Raman Gharsangi said he and officials of other departments visited the spot and instructed officials to restore the damaged road and drinking water supply. “There is damage to both public and private property. No casualty has been reported. Machines and PWD labourers are opening the village road on war footing,” he said.