Kullu: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has come under fire for allegedly executing substandard flood-protection works along the Beas river between Manali and Kullu, an area which has seen major devastation due to flooding in recent years.
Residents point out that instead of reinforced cement concrete (RCC) structures, stone crate walls have been installed at several flood-prone stretches on the bank of the Beas, including in Raison, Dohlunalla, Patlikuhal, 15 Mile, 17 Mile, Bindudhog, Kalath, and Alu Ground.
Members of the Manali hotel industry, which has suffered huge losses since 2023 on account of the Kiratpur-Manali highway closures, are particularly alarmed.
"The NHAI has done a shoddy job," says Gajender Thakur, president, Federation of Himachal Hotels and Restaurant Association. "It should have built RCC walls along all the flood-prone areas to protect against the flooding. Crate walls are comparatively less efficient. It's a temporary measure and no protection against the river in monsoon," he adds.
Over a dozen highway stretches between Kullu and Manali, along with hotels and houses, were swept away in the unprecedented floods of 2023 and in 2025.
The Beas flooding caused massive devastation in almost the same areas, like Raison, Camping Site, 15 Mile, Bindudhog, and Manali in 2023 and 2025. However, solid flood protection measures are still absent.
In Dohlunala near Raison, where a stretch of the highway was damaged by a flooded Beas last year during monsoon, the NHAI has installed a crate wall along the bank. However, it, along with a patch of the repaired highway, caved in recently due to rainfall.
"If this highway caves in during simple rain, just imagine what will happen in monsoon when the Beas level starts increasing? If the NHAI thinks that crate walls can protect us from a flooded Beas, it is sheer ignorance," says Bhubaneshwar Thakur, a resident of Dohlunala village.
Even in Raison, where the entire highway stretch was damaged and a hotel narrowly escaped from getting swept away by the Beas, twice in 2023 and 2025, the NHAI has used crate walls. "It's not flood protection but just an eyewash," says Nihal Negi, a resident of Raison.
Many stretches of the highway between Aut and Pandoh in the Mandi district, which were damaged by landslides, river floods and flash floods, are yet to be metalled. These stretches were temporarily repaired last year after the monsoon. The flyover in Dwara and the exit of a tunnel at Jhalogi, which were damaged by landslides last year in monsoon, are also still to be repaired by the NHAI.
When contacted, a senior NHAI official told TOI that major works, including flood and landslide protection, have been initiated along the Kiratpur-Manali highway prior to the onset of the coming monsoon to ensure minimal disruption due to natural disasters. "The implementation of these measures will bring significant and long-term benefits to the region, such as reliable and uninterrupted all-weather connectivity between Mandi, Kullu and Manali. The risks of landslides, falling boulders and road washouts would be reduced and safety enhanced," said the official.
Box:
Work on in Bilaspur
The NHAI has also initiated work to stabilise landslide-prone zones in the Bilaspur district along the Kiratpur-Manali highway. The work is presently under way at Thapna between tunnels No. 1 and 2, one of the worst landslide zones on this highway. An official said all the hanging boulders and land mass are being safely removed so that the threat of landslides could be lessened on the highway.
On Sept 5, 2024, a tourist from Madhya Pradesh died and three others were injured when the car they were travelling in was hit by boulders, and in July 2025, a woman was critically injured after a boulder fell on the car she was travelling in at exactly the same spot.
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