Flood water damages boating area of Saurabh Van Vihar

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Ravinder Sood

Palampur, July 12

The flood water, following a cloudburst in the Dhauladhars last night, entered a part of the Saurabh Van Vihar and damaged its boating area. The resort is a famous tourist destination spread over 100 acres, located on the right bank of the Neugal river, 3 km from Palampur.

Earlier, too, the resort was completely damaged in flash floods in 2018. Buildings, fish emporium, boating area and the café were damaged in the floods. The Van Vihar was reconstructed recently at a cost of over Rs 6 crore and a half a kilometre long protection wall was also raised along the Neugal to save it.

The Saurabh Van Vihar is a dream project of former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar set up in the memory of Captain Saurabh Kalia, who had sacrificed his life in the Kargil War.

Heavy rainfall was witnessed in higher reaches of the Dhauladhars, 5 km from Palampur, since last night. The Neugal was in spate because of the cloudburst and the flood water crossed one side of the protection wall, partly damaging the boating area of the Saurabh Van Vihar. However, no loss of human life was reported, as there were no tourists in the resort when the floods hit the area.

The Neugal is prone to flash floods and the Saurabh Van Vihar had suffered heavy losses twice in the past 10 years because of floods.

The Divisional Forest Officer, Palampur, said that no major damage was caused to the resort due to the flood water. He added that the breaches in the protection wall had been closed with the help of JCB machines and the water flow was also plugged this afternoon. Adequate protective measures were being taken to save the resort.

In another incident, the building of a private school located along the Mol khud at Kalu Di Hatti, 2 km from Palampur, also suffered an extensive damage when its protection wall was washed away due to heavy rain. However, no loss of life has been reported, as the school is closed due to the Covid crisis.