Land locked Dodra-Kwar valley in Himachal gets a road

By: Ravinder Makhaik

Shimla: The states last frontier Dodra Kwar is to be connected by road on Saturday as the government prepares to officially declare the 61 Km road that goes over the Chanshal Pass into the land locked valley open for motorable transport.

“Chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal would declare the road open on Saturday,” said Thakur Gulab Singh, minister for public works. The road to this remote valley in Shimla district bordering Uttrakhand has been constructed at a cost of Rs 27 crore, he added.

Presiding over a review meeting about progress of projects in Rohru Division, Gulab Singh said that Rs 60 crore were being spent in the area under various projects which include state roads, NABARD and Pradhanmantri Gram Sadak Yojna.

Various roads under constructed include the Dhara-Khangteri road with a budget of Rs 2.46 crore, Podhar-Mandyori road costing Rs 53.87 lakhs, Deoli-Ghasni road at R. 1.38 crore, Tutupani-Kuthari road at Rs 1.79 crore and Kotlu village link road at a cost of Rs 64.68 lakhs. Many of them were nearing completion and would be inaugurated soon, he said.

Work on a new fire service station (Rs 75 Lakh), a police station (Rs 60.91) Lakh and a primary health centre at Lower Koti (Rs 57.82 lakh) was also going on, he said.

Priority was being given to construction and maintenance of road and by June end 2000 Kms road length would be tarred with bitumen. The government had made a provision of Rs 480 crore for roads for the current financial year which stands enhanced by Rs 176 crore over the previous budget, said the minister.

Khushi Ram Bahlanta, Chairman, HP State Cooperative Bank urged to complete the ongoing road construction works in the area at the earliest so that they could be inaugurated before the starting of apple season.

Pradeep Chauhan, Chief Engineer, RC Verma, Superintending Engineer, Kuldeep Singh, Executive Engineer and other officers were present at the meeting.

(A photograph by Himanshu Khagta)