Sewerage facility eludes Bhagsunag hotels

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, September 22

Bhagsunag is the main tourist spot in Dharamsala, however, most hotels are without the sewerage facility. This despite the fact that the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department had charged Rs 800 per room or per washroom from hotel owners for providing sewerage connections about two years ago.

Vinod Kumar, a hotelier from Bhagsunag, alleged that he had a 15-room hotel. The department had charged more than Rs 20,000 from him for providing the sewerage connection. However, till date no connection had been provided.

Ashwani Bamba, president of the local hotel association, alleged that due to the failure of the department, many hoteliers were facing problems. The pollution control board authorities told the hoteliers, having more than 20 rooms, to have a sewerage treatment plant.

Rakesh, another hotelier, alleged that if the department did not have the provision to provide them sewerage connections, it should not have charged the hefty fee from them.

The Executive Engineer was not available for comments despite repeated attempts to contact him on the phone.

However, sources in the department told The Tribune that the project to provide sewerage connections in Bhagsunag could not be completed as the area was forest land.

However, the hoteliers said the department had not even applied for the forest clearance for the sewerage treatment plant.

The sources also said the department could charge from the hoteliers till the sewerage system was operational.