Hill cut in ‘unscientific’ manner at Jawali village, houses under threat

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, May 14

Owing to the methods of the road construction company engaged by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) on the road widening project from Bherkhud to Seuni (Package-II), residents of Trilokpur village near Kotla in Jawali subdivision of Kangra district are spending sleepless nights for the past few months.

In danger

• The cutting of the hill by the construction company, allegedly in an unscientific manner and with the use of excavators, has threatened a number of houses, a Tibetan monastery and the local government school building

No action initiated

The gram panchayat has passed several resolutions and submitted these to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Kangra DC, Jawali SDM and NHAI Project Director (Palampur), but no action has been initiated. — Durga Dass, Panchayat chief

The cutting of the hill by the construction company, allegedly in an unscientific manner and with the use of excavators, has threatened a number of houses, a Tibetan monastery and the local government school building.

Villagers Jaram Singh, Shailja and Sumna Devi, whose houses are under constant threat of landslides, said deep cutting of the hill was eroding the land on which their houses were built, and there is the real possibility that the foundations of the buildings could be exposed. They lamented the construction company had not built a retaining wall to protect their houses before starting to cut the hills. The villagers expressed their fear that their houses were in the danger of caving in during monsoons this year.

Besides, rains could trigger landslides in the area, threatening the houses, land and lives of the residents. The multi-storey building of the Tibetan monastery and Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS) were also under threat. Dawa Negi, the monastery in-charge, told The Tribune that two complaints had been submitted to the Jawali SDM, seeking action, but nothing concrete was done.

Trilokpur gram panchayat chief Durga Dass, who has been making efforts to save public places in the village for over two years, said the village had lost all three village paths, including one kutcha road and two with stairways, after the construction company initiated the hill-cutting process.

“After losing traditional village paths, the residents have to travel an additional 5 km via Batees Meel to reach their houses. Two historical temples of Lord Shiva and Mata Mansa have also lost connectivity and a traditional bauli (stepwell) from which villagers fulfil their daily needs is going to vanish soon. However, the main concern is the landslide threat looming over the houses and other buildings in the village,” he lamented.

Dass said the gram panchayat had passed several resolutions and submitted these to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Kangra Deputy Commissioner, Jawali SDM and NHAI Project Director (Palampur), but no action has been taken on them.

Local environmentalist Anil Sharma alleged that the road construction company was working with insensitivity and paying no heed to public safety despite several complaints submitted to the authorities concerned.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma, local in-charge of the Bharat Construction Company, said self-drilling anchor (SDR) rock bolting technology was being used against the threat of landslides.