Nahan (HP), Sep 22 Angry locals staged a protest after an oil tanker overturned early Tuesday on the Paonta-Shillai-Gumma National Highway-707 near a village in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district, a route developed under the state’s first green corridor project, triggering a traffic snarl that lasted nearly eight hours.
Long queues of vehicles were seen on both sides of the road, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
Frustrated by the delay in restoring traffic, bus and truck drivers, conductors, passengers along with locals staged a protest against the district administration and national highway authorities.
Nathuram Chauhan, who led the protesters, alleged that the administration and highway officials failed to take timely action, resulting in people remaining stuck in the traffic jam for hours.
He alleged that vehicles frequently overturn near the Badwas village; a truck had overturned at the same spot just two days earlier, he claimed.
Chauhan also alleged that a very steep incline was created at the location during construction, making it difficult for heavy vehicles to navigate the slope – posing a persistent risk of accidents.
While smaller vehicles manage to squeeze through the narrow space, buses, trucks and other heavy vehicles often get stuck, he claimed.
Tuesday’s incident left vehicles travelling to Solan, Shimla, Paonta and Nahan, as well as those moving from Paonta towards Shillai, Kafota and Shimla stranded for nearly eight hours.
Ambulances were also caught in the traffic jam, locals claimed.
Shillai SDM Jaspal said the tanker driver called in a hydro-crane was from Paonta to clear the road. Traffic was restored only after the tanker was removed from the spot.
(PTI News)
