Lahaul villagers seek land for houses at safer place

Dipender Manta
Tribune News Service
Mandi, November 15

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As many as 15 families of Yoche and Baltijing villages falling under Darcha Panchayat in Lahaul-Spiti have urged the state government to provide land at a safer place for the construction of their houses. Reason: In Yoche and Baltijing villages, sites are prone to avalanches, which may pose threat to life anytime during the winters.

Due to the fear of avalanche, people are forced to take temporary shelters in Kullu-Manali or other places during winters and hiring a dwelling is a costly affair. In 2015, a massive avalanche had done considerable damage to the houses in the area. As many as 12 houses and two primary schools were damaged badly. Since then, these families are living under utter distress in the region and they have been seeking help from the state government.

Ram Lal and Prem Singh, natives of Yoche village said, “The area is prone to snow avalanche, which may result in damage anytime during winters. We are urging the state government to provide us land at a safe place for the construction of houses, which will be a big relief for us.”

Chhimed Lamo, zila parishad member, Kolong, said the demand of the people was taken up with the district administration and Agriculture Minister Ram Lal Markanda, but there was no progress in this direction.

She said the residents of these villages were urging the state government to provide land for the construction of houses at Darcha and they were ready to exchange their village land for the purpose.

However, sources said the residents of Darcha were not in favour of providing government land to the affected persons in their territory. Agriculture Minister Ram Lal Markanda, who represents the Lahaul-Spiti constituency, said, “We are trying to identify suitable land for the rehabilitation of these affected families.”