Tribune News Service,Mandi, December 21

A three-member Border Roads Organisation (BRO) team from Manali today examined the strata of a hill near Thalout where a massive landslide had blocked the Manali-Chandigarh National Highway-21 in the district on December 7.The team include Col KP Rajendra Kumar, Commander, 38 Border Road Task Force (BRTF), Executive Engineer Anuj Jain and Junior Engineer Prakash.The Commander said they had inspected the spot and initially suggested the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to only remove the loose strata from the hill. He said the hill was still stable and the entire structure should not be disturbed. The NHAI took several days to remove the debris from the road. After the landslide, stones kept on rolling down the hill. The administration erected warning boards on both sides of the roads. The police had diverted the all vehicles from Mandi to Kullu and Kullu to Mandi via Katola in the district.Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kadam had sought the help of technical experts to examine the strata of the hill to avoid mishap in the future.Nearly 50 metre of the stretch of the highway was damaged in the landslide.