Traffic restrictions on Bailey bridge in place

Our Correspondent

Kullu, May 25

Deputy Commissioner Hans Raj Chauhan has said the Bailey bridge at Bhuntar, linking the Kullu-Manali National Highway and the Bhuntar-Manikaran road, will remain closed to traffic for maintenance purposes everyday from 12 pm to 1.30 pm till May 29.

The condition of the Bailey bridge had been causing resentment among residents of Bhuntar and the adjoining areas. The residents say the narrow bridge permits the passage of one heavy vehicle at one time, leading to frequent traffic jams. These traffic jams have become a nuisance for local residents and tourists.

The bridge acts as a sole route for vehicular traffic, connecting Parla Bhuntar and the entire Parbati valley to Bhuntar town. Thousands of vehicles, heading for Manali and Manikaran, cross this bridge daily, as the Kullu town bypass road is also connected through another bridge on the Bhuntar-Kullu bypass road. Residents rue the problem escalates during the peak tourist season in summer when a large number of vehicles reach this hill station.

Rohit, a resident of Bhuntar, said the concrete bridge was washed away in the 1995 floods and a Bailey bridge was put up as a stop-gap arrangement, which continued till 2008. In 2008, a “trala” (big truck), carrying heavy machinery of a power project at Aleo near Manali, overturned on the bridge and damaged it beyond repairs.

He said a smaller Bailey bridge was erected at the same place days after the incident to restore the lifeline to the left bank of Kullu town and the Parbati valley.

The residents rue the bridge has remained the same and the metal plates have loosened at many places, threatening the safe passage of pedestrians over the bridge. Sunil, a resident of Bhuntar, said the Kullu bypass road had been declared as the national highway, but no efforts were made by the government to broaden or replace the Bailey bridge at Bhuntar.

The residents lament that the authorities of Public Works Department (PWD) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) were passing the buck, but nothing concrete was being done to improve the situation.

Meanwhile, the single-lane bridge is causing hardships to people. Orchardists of the Parbati valley, who need to transport their cash crops and vegetables through this bridge, demanded speedy erection of a concrete double-lane bridge to facilitate the ever-increasing volume of traffic.