Frequent landslides at Theog, locals rue PWD’s ‘negligence’
Sameer Singh
Shimla, May 28
The traffic movement on the Hindustan-Tibet road (NH-5) remained disrupted for nearly three hours after a major landslide occurred in the Devimod area in Theog here this morning.
This is the second landslide in the Theog area within three days. Locals rued that it’s a tragedy-in-waiting and the Public Works Department (PWD) had “failed miserably” in maintaining the road.
After the landslide, the Shimla area got disconnected from upper Himachal areas of Kinnaur, Rampur, Narkanda and Matiana among others. Many vehicles with goods, vegetables and commuters remained stranded on both sides of the road for hours.
Two days ago as well, a landslide was reported in the Theog area, barely a few km away from the spot where it took place today.
Theog residents said landslides had been occurring in the area for the past some years, but the PWD authorities had not come up with a comprehensive plan to provide a concrete solution to the problem, which had been aggravating with the passage of time.
Vivek Thapar, chairperson, Theog Municipal Council, said, “It is utter negligence on the part of the PWD’s national highway wing that it could not come up with a proper plan to maintain the road properly. Apart from serious threat to vehicles plying on the NH, houses of residents can also get damaged in these massive landslides. The work on a retaining wall is underway at the landslide site. Once completed, is expected to provide some relief.”
“The soil in our area is fragile and the cutting of the hill on a large-scale for construction has also weakened it. So, apart from the PWD authorities ensuring proper maintenance, people of the area also need to exercise some restraint if they want to avoid such natural calamities. There is no proper drainage system in the area so sewer water seepage in soil can also weaken it,” Thapar added.
RETAINING WALL BEING BUILT
The area is vulnerable to landslides. There is water seepage due to the absence of a proper drainage system. We restored the traffic movement a few hours after the landslide. A retaining wall is being built in the area. Once completed, it is most likely to fix the problem. — Suresh Kapoor, chief engineer, NH wing, PWD
