Palampur: Residents fear for safety, authorities fail to act

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, July 7

Since the authorities concerned have failed to axe the hanging branches and dangerous trees located in various parts of the town, many residents here and in adjoining areas are living in fear, as such trees can fall on their houses and buildings in the ongoing rainy season.

Last week, three buildings in Maranda were damaged when a tilted tree came down on these during heavy rain. Power supply lines were also damaged.

Many residents of these areas have already submitted their petitions to the Municipal Commissioner, SDM, Divisional Forest Officer, NHAI and other authorities for the removal of these trees, but in vain.

Ashish Sharma, Commissioner, Palampur Municipal Corporation, says he has received a number of requests from people to remove the dangerous trees and branches hanging on or near their buildings. He said since the power in this regard lies with the SDM, the cases were forwarded to the SDM, Palampur, long back before the onset of the monsoon. Now SDM is the authority to take decision get the dangerous trees axed. Likewise, the Division Forest Officer also says that since the SDM has been given the powers by the state government to cut the trees, his office only forwards such cases to the SDM office from time to time.

Information gathered by The Tribune revealed that the local authorities had identified over 120 such dangerous trees last year with branches hanging over roads, residential buildings and government buildings in different parts of the town and on the Pathankot-Mandi national highway, but no steps had been initiated to axe these trees till date despite the fact that the monsoons were in full swing. These trees have become a threat to human lives and can give way on buildings and roads during inclement weather. Last year, one such tree fell on the Palampur–Baijnath highway near Banuri, killing a university employee.

A migrant labour was also killed at Bindravan in high-velocity winds when a tree fell on her. Besides, two dozen such trees fell when high-velocity winds hit the town last year and around 20 houses were damaged.

Residents of the town and adjoining areas have lodged strong protests, demanding that the SDM, Palampur, along with the DSP, officials of the National Highways Authority of India, Municipal Corporation, Public Works, Forest and Revenue departments should visit the town to inspect such dangerous trees and pass orders immediately to axe these trees and branches to avert any mishap.