Lack of pucca roads, eco-sensitive zone key issues in Dehra

Tribune News Service

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, June 20

The lack of pucca roads is a major election issue in many villages of the Dehra Assembly constituency. These villages fall in the jurisdiction of the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary. As per the rules governing wildlife sanctuaries, pucca roads cannot be constructed to these villages without the permission of a special empowered committee of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest. The villagers still have to walk several kilometres to reach the main road to take public transport if they do not have private vehicles. Driving vehicles becomes difficult during the monsoon as unpaved roads become marshy.

Lunsu, Dhar Manyal, Gamirpur, Dounta and Beh are a few villages in the Dehra constituency which are bereft of even basic amenities such as pucca roads. The villagers allege that they face problems as their villages fall in the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary area.

Pradeep Kumar, a resident of Dounta village, says that in every election, political leaders come to our villages and promise to get pucca roads built. However, after the election nothing happens. “The residents of our village do not have even proper phone connectivity as the Wildlife Department does not allow telecom towers to be installed in the area. Wild animals destroy crops in our village but the government does not compensate the villagers for it. Due to the lack of amenities and employment, people are migrating to other places. Only poor people, who do not have any other avenue, are still staying in the village,” he adds.

The eco-sensitive zone is another key issue in the Dehra byelection. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest had issued a draft notification in December 2023 declaring a 1-km area from the boundaries of the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary in Kangra district as an eco-sensitive zone.

As per the draft notification, in an eco-sensitive zone around the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary, no commercial activity, including the construction of hotels, resorts or any kind of polluting industry, will not be allowed. The notification also prohibits laying of overhead electric or telecommunication towers in the eco-sensitive zone. The establishment of saw mills, brick-kilns or commercial use of firewood will also be banned in the area.

The area residents had opposed the eco-sensitive zone notification fearing that it would multiply their problems. The state government then sent a request to the Union Minister for Environment and Forest to reduce the area to be included in the eco-sensitive zone.

Hoshiyar Singh’s trump card

• The lack of road connectivity in Dehra was one such issue that Hoshiyar Singh had raised during the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections and emerged victorious as an Independent candidate
• When Hoshiyar Singh fought the 2017 elections as an Independent candidate, he used private JCB machines to level kacha roads leading to villages, earning for himself the tag of a “local leader who understood the problems of the people of Dehra”

About The Author

Tribune News Service

The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#Dharamsala