McLeodganj road sinking at 4 places

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, September 4

Vital road linking Dharamsala with the famous hill station McLeodganj is sinking at four places. Massive landslides have rendered the road unfit for heavy traffic this monsoon. The PWD had to issue an advisory against plying of heavy vehicles on the road.

The area where the Dharamsala-Mcleodganj road was sinking is near the Kotwali Bazaar, Kala Pul, Terra Lines and Forsythganj. The PWD authorities have been trying to control the damage but the road portions are sinking consistently.

Executive Engineer PWD Dharamsala Vijay Kumar said they asked NIT Hamirpur to find out a permanent solution to sinking road portions. “We are waiting for their report,” he said.

McLoedganj is the main tourist attraction. It also houses the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile and the abode of the Dalai Lama. On weekends and holidays, McLeodganj witnesses a heavy rush of tourists. As the road is narrow and landslide prone, traffic jams are common during the peak tourist season.

A proposal had also been mooted to widen the road. However, since the road falls in the active sliding zone, the department is finding it hard to even maintain the single lane.

Geologists from the Central University Himachal Pradesh have been maintaining that upper crust of hills in McLeodganj area comprise loose soil and crushed stone. Such crusts are prone to landslides in case they lack proper drainage system. In case water keeps on seeping inside the upper crust of soil, it will make it heavy and prone to landslides.

Scientists have also been maintaining that the leaking septic tanks and water pipes in the region are also responsible for landslides. In Forsythganj area the residents have been complaining that cracks are developing in their houses due to sinking hills. The problem is being supplemented by illegal multi-storey buildings coming up in the area.

However, the PWD authorities have not come with any comprehensive policy to check landslide threat to infrastructure in the area.

The authorities are expecting that once the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation gets funds under the Smart City scheme, the problem would be redressed.

However, the scientists say till a master plan is chalked out, landslides and other natural disasters would continue to take their toll on infrastructure.