Carved by carelessness: 4-lane construction triggers crisis in Kangra village

The ongoing monsoon has turned deadly for many hillside residents in Kangra district, not because of nature alone, but due to what villagers describe as reckless and unscientific four-lane construction. In Bhaali, a small village near Shahpur, the expansion work of the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway (NH-154) has left a trail of devastation, with several homes now on the verge of collapse.

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The village lies along the 16-km Siuni-to-Rajol stretch of the highway, where steep vertical hill-cutting — almost at a 90-degree angle — has been carried out. The result: fragile slopes have become dangerously unstable and several ancestral homes now bear deep cracks on their walls and floors. With each passing shower, the fear of a landslide intensifies.

The expansion project, currently under construction, is being carried out by Gawar Construction Company under the supervision of the Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways (MoRTH). While the project aims to reduce the travel distance between Pathankot and Mandi from the current 219 km to 171 km, locals say the cost is being paid by those living in the path of this so-called development.

For villagers like Khushbu, the fear is constant. “We’ve made countless representations to various offices, but no one listens. Landslides have already begun. We must be shifted before it’s too late,” she said, standing beside her cracked home, her voice heavy with urgency. Nights are the worst. Entire families now spend hours outside in the rain, afraid that their roofs might give way at any moment.

Harbans Lal, an elderly resident, stood silently in the ruins of his ancestral home, where cracks zigzag across the walls and floors. “Nobody has come to see our suffering,” he said quietly, his voice choked with emotion.

Villagers are frustrated by what they see as indifference from authorities. Some cabinet ministers have told citizens to send grievances via WhatsApp, but only Kangra MP Rajiv Bhardwaj has visited the affected area. The lack of response from other political leaders has made villagers feel abandoned

Vikas Surjewala, the Project Director for the seven Kangra stretches of the NH-154 up to Paddar, acknowledged the seriousness of the situation. Speaking to The Tribune, he said the authorities are deeply concerned about the families affected by the project. He blamed the region’s fragile geological strata for the instability but maintained that precautions like step-cutting were taken to minimise risk.

Surjewala further stated that a relocation plan is being developed and that families would be shifted to safer locations in due time. Compensation files are already under process, he said and the road alignment has now been moved 10m to the other side to reduce pressure on the affected slope. He said work on a protective wall would begin shortly to contain further damage.

But for Bhaali’s residents, those assurances may have come too late. With each bout of rainfall, the cracks widen — not only in the structures, but also in the trust between the people and the institutions meant to protect them.

The monsoon may be an act of nature, but the suffering in Bhaali is undeniably man-made, shaped by careless planning, delayed intervention and a glaring disregard for human lives.