Heavy monsoonal rain and recurring landslides have left a trail of destruction in Himachal Pradesh.
As many as 25 national highways have been damaged and key road links have been cut off.
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways stated in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha that multiple embankments, retaining walls, bridges and road sections had collapsed or were washed away during the ongoing monsoon season.
According to the data provided by the ministry, landslides, sinking of roads and formation breaches had been reported from across the state and connectivity lifelines such as the Kullu-Manali highway, Hindustan-Tibet road and the Theog-Kotkhai-Hatkoti road stretch had suffered damage.
Massive landslides and falling boulders had also damaged elevated structures, tunnels and crash barriers. In several locations, highways had become impassable, cutting off access to remote valleys and tourist hubs.
Among the worst-affected roads was the National Highway-3 where the Kullu-Manali section had suffered embankment breaches while elevated structures on the Pandoh-Takoli road stretch had been damaged due to falling boulders.
The Manali-Sarchu road also suffered formation breaches and landslide-induced damage. Similarly, several landslips and damage to retaining walls on the Hindustan-Tibet highway were witnessed.
Other damaged roads included the Shillai-Meenus-Hatkoti, Nalagarh-Swarghat, Paonta Sahib-Jagadhri link road and several corridors connecting Una, Dharamsala and Chamba.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed the House that urgent works were being taken up to restore traffic flow through ongoing contracts or maintenance projects, with separate approvals being granted for permanent rectification after detailed assessments.
On financial support, the Central Government said that Himachal Pradesh had been allocated Rs 441.60 crore under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for 2025-26 and the first installment of Rs 198.80 crore had already been released.
In addition, Rs 107.15 crore was released from the National Disaster Response Fund last year for similar damages.
This year, an inter-ministerial Central team visited the state in July to assess losses due to flashfloods and landslides.
Earlier, a post-disaster needs assessment had pegged the requirement for recovery and reconstruction at Rs 2,006.40 crore and the Central Government had already released the first installment of Rs 451.44 crore.
Gadkari said that the government was working on long-term measures to make highways in the Himalayas more disaster-resilient.
These included slope protection, use of reinforced road technologies, early warning systems for cloudbursts and landslides and collaborations with scientific institutions for geotechnical studies and hazard monitoring.