Traffic cautiously allowed at Ghat bend amid continued shooting of stones
Traffic cautiously allowed at Ghat bend amid continued shooting of stones
B.D.Kasniyal
Pithoragarh, Sept 25
Vehicular traffic to and from Pithoragarh town was being allowed cautiously at Ghat bend on the Pithoragarh-Tanakpur NH-9 after stones and debris continued to fall from the hillside for more than five hours for the second consecutive day on Thursday.
“As the sudden shooting of stones and the accumulation of debris began at around 10 am yesterday and continued through this morning, we have requested NH officials to allow vehicles to cross the bend from either side with utmost caution,” said Bhupendra Singh Mahar, District Disaster Management Officer (DDMO), Pithoragarh.
The sudden disruption on the lifeline road of the border district not only resulted in long queues of vehicles on both sides of the affected stretch but also caused considerable hardship to patients travelling to higher medical centres for treatment.
“Not only did a patient travelling to Delhi for treatment have to suffer for hours, but a team carrying a body to Rameshwar Ghat for cremation was also forced to use an alternative route to reach the cremation site,” said Prakash Joshi, a BJP leader from Pithoragarh district, who was among the passengers stranded on the road.
Eyewitnesses living near the bend said that debris accumulating on the hillside had not been cleared for some time. They said the accumulated material had apparently started falling onto the road under the force of gravity.
Ajay Tamta, Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and the local BJP MP, said the hillside above Ghat bend would have to undergo slope stabilisation and treatment to prevent further disruptions.
“The hill above Ghat bend needs to be treated and its slope stabilised. Once the treatment is completed, the road should remain free from such disturbances,” Tamta said.
He added that NH officials had been instructed to continue traffic movement on the road while taking all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of passengers.
