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A spate of national highways bending along the Himalayan rivers have cropped up in Himachal Pradesh over the past years. Several of these roads, built by the National Highways Authority of India by cutting up mountains, are deemed “all-weather” - but the recent floods have uncovered a different reality.
The floods that ravaged the state in July this year left over 130 dead, thousands displaced, and more than 1,200 roads blocked due to landslides, erosion and damage. In Kullu district alone, around 170 roads were blocked. The traffic on one of the most high-profile and newly-built highways in Himachal - the Kiratpur-Mandi-Kullu-Manali Highway - also came to a standstill as the roadway witnessed heavy damages, raising questions over the quality of roads and the use of scientific approach in its construction.
Satish Kumar, driver of one of the thousand vehicles stranded on the highway, told Newslaundry, “I come here twice each month in this season [with tourists]. The new highway was opened to the public only a few days ago, but it had to be closed off due to rain. I had never thought that this highway built over so many years would collapse in one monsoon.”
Locals told Newslaundry that private companies have been dumping construction waste in the rivers which has contributed to the floods. Meanwhile, experts said that rapid and unscientific road construction in the hills was also a major cause of the deluge.
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