Cracks in houses, Mandi villagers blame hill-cutting

Dipender Manta

Mandi, January 19

After the subsidence tragedy in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath, there is a wake-up call for neighbouring Himachal Pradesh where houses have developed cracks in two villages of Mandi district following alleged non-scientific cutting of hills for road expansion.

The houses—in Tuanal and Shalanal villages of Bhatwari panchayat under Balichowki subdivision—are located on the hills adjoining the Kiratpur-Manali four-lane project. Living in constant fear, the affected villagers have been demanding compensation and rehabilitation claiming their houses were no longer habitable. Shobha Ram Bhardwaj, a panchayat samiti member, said the link road leading to the two villages had been completely damaged due to landslides, making commuting even on foot risky. Moreover, a huge tract of land had developed cracks, which could trigger major landslides, he said.

A Revenue Department team led by Balichowki SDM Sidharth Acharya visited the villages and found that some houses “had turned unsafe”. Acharya, however, ruled out subsidence as the cause. He said a path would soon be constructed, and that the NHAI would be directed to raise the height of the retaining walls in landslide-prone sections of the highway. The SDM said nine houses had developed cracks at Shalanal village and five at Tuanal village.

The NHAI is learnt to be seeking the help of experts from IIT-Roorkee to check landslides. This, even as environmentalists of Himachal have been raising a hue and cry about the damage to hills due to four-laning and other projects. “Unscientific cutting of hills will definitely bring along destruction,” said Narender Saini, the president of Devbhumi Paryavaran Rakshak Manch.

Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary said a survey had been conducted and preventive measures were being adopted.

The Tribune had recently highlighted the plight of the people in Thalaut, Fagu and Nagni villages under Aut panchayat in Mandi where residents have been facing a similar situation as around 35 houses have developed cracks. Recently, a team of geologists visited the site and suggested filling up of the cracks that had developed in the fields.