Potholes, Corruption and Peril on Wheels — Kargoli-Deha-Alidhar Stretch Turns Death Trap
Chopal/Deha, October 26:
The Kargoli–Deha–Alidhar stretch of the Sainj–Chopal–Nerwa state highway has turned into a daily nightmare for commuters — a death trap riddled with craters, potholes, and sliding hillsides that expose the deep rot in the Public Works Department (PWD) and its contractors.
The once motorable stretch now looks more like a riverbed — broken, sunken, and scarred by reckless cutting and shoddy retaining walls. Big potholes and khad-like road patches make every crossing a gamble with life.
"I recently traveled on this road it is worst than it used to be in 1980s", rued Dr Sudarshan Thakur, a resident of Chopal.
“It’s not a road anymore, it’s a series of pits,” fumes Ramesh Kumar, a local commuter from Deha. “PWD engineers and contractors are greasing each other’s palms while we risk our lives every day.”
We breath nothing but dust making the life of local villagers miserable as plumes of dust raised by movement of traffic have been sprayed in their homes and in orchards and crops.
Locals allege that landslides and broken culverts are a direct result of massive corruption.
The debris from road widening has been dumped straight into nallahs and road edges instead of designated disposal sites, choking the natural drainage and destabilizing slopes.
“The retaining walls have no foundation, culverts are half-done, and even the drains vanish midway,” said Prem Singh, another daily traveler.
“There’s a big gap between the estimates on paper and the materials used on the ground.” Who will check this corruption, traveling public ask.
The stretch from Kargoli to Deha, which falls under the Theog Division of the PWD, is in particularly pathetic condition.
Barely 200 meters from Kargoli Nallah towards Lailupul, a massive landslide has narrowed the road to a single risky lane, causing frequent jams and close calls.
PWD has not bothered to widen it enough to allow safe crossing of vehicles here.
The stretch between Deha and Alidhar has turned into a sliding zone due to unscientific construction and lack of proper walls when this road was widened.
The so-called Kargoli Nallah–Deha bypass, built in haste, has already caved in — its poor alignment and slope now laid bare for all to see.
Villagers say they even filed a complaint with the State Vigilance Department against the contractor, but it was conveniently buried.
“Everyone knew the bypass was a sham from the day it was built. But the contractor had political blessings,” said a resident of Deha requesting anonymity.
No repair work has started so far on the old Kargoli Deha raod, which now carry the entire traffic load.
Local PWD officials admit they have no funds, while contractors claim their previous bills remain unpaid. As a result, commuters continue to suffer as the road slips further into disrepair.
Even the Chopal–Nerwa road remains risky, with potholes and cracks across several stretches badly damaged by monsoon rains and landslides, making driving a bone-rattling and dangerous affair.
Will Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh finally step in to get these crucial roads repaired and made motorable again?
Or will these stretches remain another glaring example of how corruption, apathy, and poor engineering have crippled Himachal’s hill roads?
Meanwhile, after himbumail.com exposed the apathy of both NHAI and the HPPWD National Highway wing, potholes on the Fagu–Deha stretch were hurriedly filled up — a token gesture that only confirmed how negligence thrives until the media shines a light.
With no accountability and poor engineering practices, the fragile hillsides are sliding away, literally washing off crores of public money. What remains is a treacherous track that mirrors the state of governance — broken, slippery, and dangerously hollow.
#HimachalPradesh #Chopal #PWD #RoadCorruption #HimalayanDisaster #HimbuMailImpact
