Kullu: The Centre has handed the upkeep and maintenance of NH154A, a key highway that connects Chamba with the remote Bharmour region in Himachal Pradesh, to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).The decision was notified by the Union ministry of road transport and highways through a notification issued on April 30.The 167-km road stretch that originates at Chhaki Dhar in Pathankot on HP’s border with Punjab runs through Banikhet and Chamba, finally terminating at Bharmour, the tribal region of the district. While funds for the maintenance of this highway were sanctioned by the Centre, the responsibility for the execution rested with the state govt.The locals have been blaming the state govt for poor condition of the highway, which was badly damaged in last year’s monsoon, trapping thousands of pilgrims during the annual Manimahesh yatra. The highway is still to be properly repaired even after more than eight months, even as the danger of landslides also remains on many stretches.The Centre’s decision comes weeks after Bharmour BJP MLA Janak Raj staged a protest over the poor condition of the highway. On April 19, Janak Raj led a chakka jam on the Chamba-Bharmour road, with hundreds of his supporters blocking traffic for nearly 90 minutes to demand immediate repairs and restoration of the damaged highway.Talking to TOI, Janak Raj, who raised the demand for handing over the maintenance of the highway to the NHAI with Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, said hopefully the road condition would improve now.“The commuters and residents of the tribal region have been facing hardships due to the deteriorating road condition. Funding for the highway was not the main issue. The problem was poor execution and mismanagement at state level, due to which the available funds were not properly utilised for improvement of the road condition. There is still not even an executive engineer posted in Bharmour to oversee the road conditions,” said Janak Raj.“For the last three-and-a-half years, we have been raising the issue and even met Union minister Gadkari, demanding that the highway be handed over to the NHAI. The people of this tribal region can now expect better execution and accountability under the NHAI,” added the MLA.Meanwhile, in another notification the Centre has delegated execution powers on a few stretches of the national highways in Himachal Pradesh to the state govt.
