Floods wreak havoc in Doda

Ranjit Thakur

Doda, July 13 

Flash floods after a cloudburst wreaked havoc in the upper reaches of Ghat in Doda district on Friday.

Rainwater along with debris entered houses in Nalwa village and damaged crops in fields. The traffic movement on the 4-km Ghat-Doda road, too,  was hit for a few hours as a portion of the road was washed away at several places due to floods.

Naseema Begum of Nalwa said, “Flood water entered our house and damaged our fields. We have been demanding for a long time that a culvert be constructed on the nallah but the authorities have turned a deaf ear.”

“The government should take appropriate steps to improve the Doda-Ghat road condition and construct culverts on the seasonal nallahs to avert any tragedy in future,” she added.

Local people have also expressed resentment against the department concerned for delaying the construction of the bridge and demanded that an inquiry be initiated and action taken against officers responsible for delaying the construction work.

Majid Bhandari, a villager, said, “We have been demanding a motorable bridge over the Ghat-Doda nallah, where two children were washed away a few years ago. We are living in constant fear due to the non-availability of a bridge as the nallah is often flooded. Over five years have passed but not even half the bridge work has been completed.”

A senior official of the Public Works Department (PWD) in Doda said, “We have installed a machine and the road clearance work is on. When asked about the bridge, the officer said, “As soon as we get funds from the government, the remaining work will be completed.”