Demanding channelling of nullah, Lahaul-Spiti women stage protest

The ongoing protest, led by the women’s groups from the panchayats of Jundha, Nalda, Goharma, Jobarang and Shansha, continued for the fourth day at Jahalama panchayat of Lahaul and Spiti district on Friday in support of their demand for the state government’s intervention to address the growing flood damage incidents in the area.

In the past few years, farmland in these panchayats was damaged due to flashfloods in the Jahalama nullah.

Women from Kothi, Raprind and Gharbog in Jahalama panchayat joined the demonstration, with a clear demand for immediate government action. Former minister Ram Lal Markanda and Jawahar Sharma, member of the BJP state working committee, also joined the protest and expressed full support to their cause. Both leaders supported the women’s demands and promised them that they would get the issue raised by them resolved.

According to protesters, the damage caused by flashfloods issue stems from the continuous widening of the Jahalama nullah over the past three or four years. Flashfloods have caused extensive damage to the agricultural land in surrounding areas, posing a threat to residential houses. While Lindur village is continuously experiencing subsidence, the riverbanks adjacent to the Jahalama nullah are also witnessing continuous devastation.

“Floodwater has also devastated the local irrigation infrastructure. All kuhls (traditional irrigation channels) along the nullah have been destroyed, leaving many villages without a source of water for agriculture. Floods have damaged the Jasarath bridge and the bridges in Jobarang and Nalda are also endangered,” said one of the protesters.

Sudarshan Jaspa, organiser of the protest and former district council member, said the state government had not taken any concrete measures to address the issue. The protesters said the Jal Shakti Department had submitted a DPR to the state government for the channelling of the Chandrabhaga river and the Jahalama nullah to mitigate flood damage, but the report was yet to be approved.

The women urged the government to release the required funds and initiate the work at the earliest to prevent further damage.“Women from all six panchayats taking part in the ‘satyagrah’ , which began on November 12, will continue with their peaceful sit-in until their demands are met,” said Jaspa.