Kalka bypass to be ready in a month, says NHAI

Chandigarh, January 23
In another month, you will be able to steer clear of the chaos and traffic jams in the Kalka bazar. For, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has assured the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the bypass is accelerating towards completion, despite brakes applied by the inclement weather.

In a status report placed before Justice MM Kumar and Justice AK Mittal, the NHAI project director Anil Kumar Dhaiya has asserted: “The four-laning of the Zirakpur-Parwanoo section of National Highway-22 is complete, including that of the Pinjore-Kalka-Parwanoo bypass, barring the road marking and protecting works of rock-fall”.

Elaborating, he asserted: “The alignment of the bypass is passing through the hilly terrain of the lower Shivalik ranges, which are having slopes and rocks very fragile in nature.

“On the completion of the four-laning works, the protection works of the fragile slopes and rocks are being carried out by a specialised agency and the progress of the same is getting affected due to the cold wave conditions prevailing in the region.

“It is expected that the weather shall improve within seven or 10 days, and the balance work of safety shall require another 15 to 20 days thereafter to complete in all aspects, and the bypass will be open to highway traffic”.

The High Court is currently monitoring the progress of the project. Only recently, it had taken suo-motu cognisance of a news-report in these columns on the plight of tourists and daily commuters on the Kalka-Parwanoo stretch.

The news report was brought to High Court’s notice by Justice PK Palli, a former Judge of the Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh High Court. Justice Palli, along with a communication on the issue, had annexed a copy of the report carried in these columns on October 10, last year.

The High Court had observed that the road was in a bad shape due to the rains. Otherwise also, the road in front of the Kali Mata Mandir was congested and long traffic jams were a routine. These were a cause of harassment not just to the commuters, but also to the devotees coming to pay obeisance at the historic temple.