BRO fails to improve condition of strategically important GramphooSumdo road

  • | Thursday | 12th July, 2018

Given the strategic importance of Gramphoo-Sumdo highway, the defence ministry had planned to improve the condition of this road. The road was blocked for over 12 hours on Monday evening after a truck got stuck on a bad stretch. This road was declared national highway on March 4, 2014, after BRO took over it from PWD. “Years have passed since BRO took over the highway, yet its condition has not improved. MANALI: Gramphoo-Sumdo road, which is planned to be upgraded for its strategical importance by the defense ministry, is getting worse day by day.

MANALI: Gramphoo-Sumdo road, which is planned to be upgraded for its strategical importance by the defense ministry, is getting worse day by day. The road gets blocked again and again, giving a harrowing time to commuters. Even the state agriculture minister got stuck here on Tuesday.In 2010, the defense ministry had recommended acquisition of 209km-long Gramphoo-Sumdho road by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) from public works department (PWD) to improve its condition. However, the road remains in dilapidated state. It has a nullah flowing over it and light vehicles get stuck in huge boulders strewn on the road.The road was blocked for over 12 hours on Monday evening. On Tuesday, when agriculture minister Dr Ram Lal Markanda was travelling from Kaza to Gramphoo, he was shocked to see its poor condition. “Years have passed since BRO took over the highway, yet its condition has not improved. Some stretches are not even worth driving on,” he said.Incidentally, when BRO was taking over the highway from PWD, Markanda was the MLA from Lahaul-Spiti. He had opposed the ministry’s move then. This road was declared national highway on March 4, 2014, after BRO took over it from PWD. The patch from Sumdho to Kaza is not too bad, but the road between Kaza and Gramphoo, where it connects with Manali-Leh highway, is particulary bad.“Floods, landslides, rough surface, high gradient and no phone connectivity in the region are a nightmare for us,” Norbu, a resident of Spiti Chhering, told TOI. “The road gets blocked frequently. There are two major damaged portions between Kunzum and Gramphoo. The road was blocked for over 12 hours on Monday evening after a truck got stuck on a bad stretch. We have heard the vehicle owners and drivers collected money and called a JCB machine to pull out the truck. This road is also impacting on tourism in the area,” he added.Some year back, local politicians and officials had said the entire road was being double-laned. However, recently, BRO commander at 759 Border Road Task Force Rajeev Kumar told TOI that no budget had been sanctioned for the widening of this highway. The Indo-China border at Kaurik is very close to Sumdo. Given the strategic importance of Gramphoo-Sumdo highway, the defence ministry had planned to improve the condition of this road. But nothing is being done on the ground.

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