To lessen traffic on this stretch of NH-305 and solve the issue of recurrent traffic jams, the district administration has decided to limit the passage of heavy trucks from Larji to Jalori starting on April 10.
Banjar SDM Pankaj Sharma chaired a meeting with officials and other stakeholders on April 8 to examine the severe and regular traffic bottlenecks on NH-305 from Larji to Jalori.
SDM Banjar issued instructions to limit the passage of trucks, dumpers, tippers, and other heavy vehicles on NH-305 (Larji to Jalori) from 8 am to 11 am and 1 pm to 9 p.m. until further orders, after studying the matter and taking into account the approaching tourist season. The limitations do not apply to vehicles providing emergency services or other vital functions.
Locals lamented that regular traffic bottlenecks were caused by the tiny route that connected Banjar to Jalori.
Jibhi village resident Mukesh said that while the route had been designated as a national highway for over ten years, it was really more of a connector road. “The locals have been pushing the government to widen the road since 2007.” He said, “The locals have long demanded that the road be repaired and repaved.
The district headquarters in Kullu and the outside Seraj valley are connected by the highway. This route connects the towns of Jalori, Raghupur, and Serolsar Lake to the residents of Kullu, Anni, Rampur, and visitors to the Banjar valley.
The Public Works Department’s National Highway Wing has started work on expanding the 120-kilometer Aut-Luhri-Sainj NH-305. The National Highway Wing’s Executive Engineer (EE), KL Suman, said that the NH-305 is being enlarged gradually. According to him, the road’s layout was decided upon in 2017.
According to the EE, the first phase of the project to expand the 31-kilometer length from Sainj to Kandugad is now ongoing. “During this fiscal year, the remaining stretch from Kandugad to Aut, excluding the proposed tunnel beneath the Jalori Pass, will be widened,” he said.
Suman also said that although construction on the Kandugad-Aut length will begin after the Lok Sabha elections, the land acquisition procedure for the Sainj-Kandugad segment is already underway.
He also said that the authorized tarring of the road between Anni and Jalori Pass would be finished, and patchwork would be done to fix the remaining portion.