How Manali's left bank road is region's lifeline in monsoon mayhem?

Manali, Aug 29 (IANS) The decades-old alternate least-maintained road link to this picturesque tourist resort in Himachal Pradesh with a heritage tag via the left bank of the Beas river is coming to the rescue of people whenever the mighty river washes away a major portion of the national highway, which falls on the river's right side, especially in monsoon floods.

Locals say the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should strengthen the left bank road on priority by making it a double lane to ensure the safety of motorists and round-the-year connectivity, as it largely does not fall along the riverbank.

In this monsoon fury, when the swollen river gnaws at the national highway and washes away a large portion of stretches beyond imagination, this humble road comes alive -- rescuing the stranded, carrying essentials, and offering a way out when the main artery lies broken.

For the locals, the story repeats itself with clockwork cruelty.

"Every year, the river shows its might, and every year, people fear they will be marooned. It is the left bank road that silently shoulders the burden," says Ramesh Thakur, taxi operator of Jagatsukh village, who has ferried tourists through these battered hills for two decades.

The left bank road via Naggar, famous for Naggar Castle and Russian artist Nicholas Roerich's grand estate, comprises premises of the Indian-Russian Memorial Complex, which was carved in the late 1950s, modest in build and meant as a supporting link. But with the highway routinely battered by landslides and floods, the left bank road link has become more than a backup - it is the region's lifeline.

Villagers along the stretch say the lesson is obvious. Instead of pouring crores into repairing a highway that the river reclaims each season, the NHAI should prioritise a double-lane of the Manali route permanently along the left bank, they said.

"Why waste money filling the same cavities year after year? The alignment already exists, and it saves both resources and time," argues a school teacher. Every time the Beas swells, tourists are seen lugging backpacks across broken bridges, while trucks line up with supplies dwindling on the highway. On the other side, the left bank road, narrower and steeper and dotted with large potholes with poor drainage, still manages to carry them home. For residents, it is not just a question of convenience, but of survival.

"When medicines cannot reach Manali and beyond the landlocked remote Lahaul Valley, when vegetables rot before they arrive, it is this road that saves us," says Sushil Negi, a local shopkeeper.

A state government functionary told IANS the alignment work to double-lane the left bank road has not been completed yet, despite a survey being conducted three years ago. Before this, the right bank Kullu-Manali double-lane highway will be improved and repaired by the NHAI. It was badly damaged in the disaster of 2023, too.

In the Nerchowk to Manali section, four-laning has been done till Ramshila near Kullu town. The 37-km-long double-lane stretch from Ramshila to Manali falls on the right bank.

"With the Manali left bank road becoming double-lane, tourists coming from the country and abroad will get relief. At present, the left bank road is narrow. Tourists have to face difficulties due to jams and potholes on the road," Prem Thakur, who runs a hotel in Manali, told IANS.

He said a two-lane road on the left bank would be a long-term investment as it doesn't lie along the river course, meaning less damage from the river fury.

Also, he said, thousands of people living on the left bank will get better road facilities.

Yesteryear's 'Paraya Dhan', a hit Hindi movie of 1971 starring Balraj Sahni, Hema Malini and Rakesh Roshan, was also shot on the left bank of Manali.

Horrifying visuals showed buildings and bridges collapsing like a pack of cards in the blink of an eye in Himachal Pradesh. Torrential rain battered the state, causing 31 deaths from June 20 to August 28 and loss of Rs 275,354 lakh.

As per the state Emergency Operations Centre, locals believe that nature does not kill, and human-induced activities do.

As the rain continues to lash the mountains, the call grows louder: double-lane the left bank to prevent devastation by floods in future to the Kullu-Manali highway, before the next flood writes the same old story again.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)

--IANS

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