Varandha Ghat Road To Remain Closed For Traffic From 10th February To 30th April For Landslide Prevention Work
Bhor, January 7, 2021: To prevent the landslide in Varandha ghat on Bhor-Mahad road, the Public Works Department (PWD) is soon going to start the work for a protection net. For this, the vehicular movements will be completely closed on the road by the department from 10th February to 30th April 2021.
The Varandha ghat cuts the Sahyadri range to join Bhor to Mahad and is one of the routes between Konkan and Pune. It is 108 kilometres (67 mi) from Pune. This ghat stretches almost 10 kilometres (6.2 mi).
Last year, a landslide occurred in the ghat area due to heavy rains on August 13. The road had been closed for the traffic since then. Meanwhile, the repair work was completed in the ghat section (Bhor side) two months ago and the road was opened for two-wheelers and four-wheelers but public transport and heavy vehicles were not allowed.
Recently the government approved Rs 5.40 crore for the construction of safety wall and protection net in the ghat area (Mahad side). The work will be started from 10th February 2021.
PWD’s executive engineer Ratnakar Bamne said, “There are sharp turns in the ghat section and it is necessary to increase the height of existing and newly constructed safety walls. For these works, heavy construction vehicles, materials will be needed. As the Ghat Road is already narrow, we have decided to close the road for all kinds of vehicles. The road will remain closed for 80 days.”
As the construction work is already done till Waghjai temple, people can visit the place up to the temple. But they have to come back to Bhor as the further road will be closed for traffic.
