The Kullu-Manali National Highway-03 has suffered repeated damage in recent years. Even built protection walls have failed.
A stone-crate retaining wall at Rangri near Manali collapsed on Friday, indicating that flood barriers are already giving way. Retaining walls and stone crate fences erected by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on the roadside have got uprooted and have now reached the river.
Local resident Manoj warns that temporary barricades have also collapsed and so far the NHAI’s efforts have proved insufficient.
Manali hotelier Roshan Thakur alleges that contractors have installed only mud walls and temporary crates along the Beas riverbanks instead of permanent protections. These gave way even before the latest floods, fuelling fears that substandard construction and unscientific methods have made the road fragile.
Hotelier Ramesh Thakur says, “We are paying the price for rushed development.” In fact, even today several stretches of the highway are still operating as a single-lane road and have not yet been upgraded to two lanes.
Residents also complain that the highway was never built to its planned scale. They say that the original project had envisaged four lanes but only two lanes were constructed while the land was acquired for four lanes but only two were built.
In the first major floods of 2023, large stretches of the highway had caved in and alignment had been lost. Many damaged portions of the highway were yet to be restored completely and even after two years, the NHAI is not making enough efforts for complete restoration.
The highway had witnessed similar devastation in 2025 when its right-bank sections at Dohlunala, Raison, 14-17 Mile, Bindu Dhank and Aloo Ground were washed away. Officials say temporary routes were opened to resume traffic but the highway is still vulnerable.
The NHAI says that permanent solutions are being planned. It has approved Rs 400 crore for dam-style RCC retaining walls at 12 vulnerable sites. NHAI officials say that only temporary maintenance is feasible to keep traffic moving.
NHAI Resident Engineer Ashok Chauhan has announced the installation of about 1,500 JCC concrete barriers between Kullu and Manali to prevent road accidents in flood-hit zones. He adds that the highway will be spruced up for the tourist season by March.
At Ramshila, on the Kullu-Bhuntar road, which was washed away last year, the state Public Works Department is already strengthening and widening the road at a cost of Rs 1 crore.
Despite these measures, skepticism remains. Many stretches of the highway still await permanent reinforcement and every monsoon raises fears.
Residents argue that without proper design and highway widening to four lanes as originally promised, the highway will remain a death trap.
With tourism and local livelihoods at stake, citizens are demanding accountability for the past work and assurance that the highway will be truly flood-proof.