Reckong Peo, June 14
People in several villages of tribal Kinnaur, downstream Urni, 25 km from district headquarters Reckong Peo, are on tenterhooks as an artificial lake has been formed in the Sutlej following a massive landslide yesterday.

DD Sharma, Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner, said the landslide had blocked the river and a lake was formed, which could cause flash floods if the lake breached. People along the banks of the Sutlej, from Urni to Tattapani, have been alerted.

“About 20 to 30 per cent of water is seeping from the blockage and there is no immediate threat, but the situation can be dangerous in case the lake bursts,” he added.

Sharma said it was for the second time in the past six days that a lake had been formed due to the landslide. The river was blocked on June 10 in a similar landslide of lesser magnitude and it blocked again yesterday.

He said the road was also blocked and the administration put all its workforce to clear the road, which took about 10 hours.

An alternate route via Kulvi village had been opened and light vehicles were passing through the road. Efforts were being made to revive the old Hindustan-Tibet route to provide an alternate route, he added.

The DC said there were reports of some villages sinking and the villagers apprehended that it might be due to the construction of underground tunnels for hydel projects. The administration had urged the state government to request the Union Government to send a team of geological experts to ascertain the cause of frequent massive landslides and sinking of villages.

Pandoh (Mandi), June 14
One of the tour operator’s relatives, who accompanied the engineering students from Hyderabad, faced the ire of parents and relatives after the search operation ended here today.

The mere presence of Krishna Murli, tour co-coordinator’s relative, infuriated parents who tried to heckle him at the dam site as they mistook him for Prahlad, the tour co-coordinator who got washed away with students in the Beas.

Murli had been living at the Hanogi temple ever since the mishap occurred. He was also heckled on the day of the incident at Thalot by locals and students.

The parents held the tour operator of HV Tours responsible for not ensuring the safety of students and demanded action against him.

The police intervened and later took his statement.

Dharamsala, June 14
Encouraged by massive publicity and help being extended to the families of 24 students from Hyderabad, who drowned in the Beas river in Mandi district, the grandfather of Haripur village boy also demanded similar help from the government so that he could locate his grandson’s body.

Vijay Awasthi of Haripur village in Kangra district, while addressing mediapersons here today, said his 17-year-old grandson, Piyush Awasthi, drowned in the Beas near the Kaleshwar temple on June 6 and the complaint regarding this was registered with the local police on June 7.

“However, none of the authorities made any efforts to recover his body. The young boy was a polytechnic student in Kangra. The state government has neither made any efforts to recover the body nor given any compensation to the family,” he said.

Awasthi said: “Every day people drown in rivers in the state, but the government has no policy to compensate the suffering families. It is good that every effort is being made to help the families of students who drowned in the Beas in Mandi district. But, the state government should also frame a policy to help local families who suffer due to such tragedies.”

Puneet Malhi, spokesperson of District Congress Committee, accompanied him.

Mandi, June 14
Jai Ram Thakur, Seraj MLA and BJP leader, has held the lack of coordination between Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL), power project authorities and State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) responsible for the mishap in which 24 engineering students from Hyderabad were washed away in the Beas on Sunday.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Jai Ram said, "The incident could have been avoided if there was coordination between the HPSEBL, the Larji dam authorities and the SLDC. The HPSEBL authorities cannot escape responsibility for the mishap".

He said, "From the video of the incident, it looks like the Larji dam authorities had opened three gates to release the water". He demanded that the HPSEBL enhance the compensation given to the families of the victims.

The MLA has also demanded strict action against sand mafia, who have dug up several link roads which are now being used by tourists to reach the river.

Jai Ram said he would demand a comprehensive plan for safety and security of tourists.

Nahan, June 14
With no official from the district administration coming forward to address the grievances of Nahan MLA Rajiv Bindal, whose hunger strike entered the third day today, BJP leaders said the government's indifferent attitude was a reflection of its anti-people approach.

Bindal later ended his fast after BJP district president Sukhram Chawdhary offered him a glass of juice.

BJP MLAs Baldev Tomar, Suresh Kashyap and other senior leaders, including Baldev Bhandari and Chander Mohan Thakur, also came forward to support Bindal. He has been protesting against the lackadaisical attitude of the state government in implementing various developmental works in his constituency for the past one-and-a-half years.

Addressing people Bindal said he would continue to raise his voice and protest against the government’s indifferent attitude towards Nahan’s development. He said instead of providing adequate budget for the much-awaited Giri Potable Water scheme, the present Congress government had failed to ensure any progress in this direction.

He said former CM PK Dhumal had laid the foundation stone of this scheme during his tenure and provided Rs 11 crore for it.

He said boring work had already begun, but the Congress government after coming to power had failed to allocate more funds for the completion of this scheme which was estimated to cost Rs 52 crore as per the detailed project report.

He said: “This cost has now been revised to Rs 76 crore, but the Congress government has failed to provide any budget and this is affecting its completion.”

Bindal said even other issues such as the delay in the preparation of detailed project report of roads and bridges was worrisome as people were facing hardships in the absence of proper infrastructure.