More than two weeks after the Shiller-Pathia link road in Kasauli subdivision was blocked by landslides, the Public Works Department (PWD) deployed labourers to clear mounds of debris that had eroded from the hillside during heavy rains.
The road, strewn with muck and uprooted trees, has exposed the poor quality of construction work on which Rs 3.5 crore was spent last year. The issue was highlighted earlier in these columns.
As no slope protection measures were undertaken after the road was constructed, the excavated hillside has continued to erode. Although a few retaining walls were built, they failed soon after completion. The situation worsened during the monsoon, with multiple landslides and uprooted trees blocking the entire 3.5-km stretch. The scene resembled an environmental disaster, as only a narrow footpath remained accessible to pedestrians while heaps of debris and fallen trees obstructed the road.
The absence of an authorised dumping site posed an additional challenge for PWD workers while clearing the debris. Although the road has now been reopened to vehicular traffic, driving on it remains risky as the hillside continues to erode.
Gurminder Rana, Executive Engineer, PWD, Kasauli division, said a tender worth Rs 13 lakh would soon be floated to install crate wire structures to stabilise the vulnerable slope. The work would begin after the monsoon, once weather conditions improve, he said.
He added that a reinforced cement concrete retaining wall constructed earlier could not withstand the large volume of water and debris during heavy rains.
The road project was funded by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Residents alleged that despite an existing pedestrian path, the project involved only limited road widening and the construction of a few substandard culverts.
Former Kasauli MLA Dr Rajiv Saizal laid the foundation stone for the road in October 2020. The road was inaugurated in 2022 even though its concretisation work had not been completed.
It was inaugurated again in July 2025 by Congress MLA Vinod Sultanpuri despite sections of the road already being damaged. The lack of timely metalling led to the formation of potholes, while rainwater accumulated at several locations. Slush further compounded motorists’ difficulties, making the stretch hazardous to navigate.