Ghinni Ghad’s paradox: 40 km from Chandigarh, region faces infra crisis

A delegation of the Ghinni Ghad Vikas Manch, led by Yashpal Nagwan, met Pachhad Sub-Divisional Magistrate Dr Priyanka Chandra to highlight the pressing issues of six panchayats in the Ghinni Ghad area of Sirmaur district. The delegation submitted a memorandum through the SDM, urging Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to address the region’s poor road connectivity, inadequate medical facilities and shortage of teachers in schools.

The memorandum noted that although Ghinni Ghad lies barely 40 km from Chandigarh, the region continues to remain underdeveloped. Roads are in dismal condition, making daily travel and transportation of cash crops to mandis extremely difficult. The Sarahan-Chandigarh road, described as riddled with potholes, has become almost unusable. Similar problems persist on the Dhangyar-Nainatikker and Doogaghat-Kila Kalanch routes, leaving villagers with no reliable access.

The delegation also raised concern over the state of educational institutions, where many teaching posts remain vacant, affecting the quality of education for local children. Health services, too, were described as virtually non-existent, with no doctors or health workers available to serve the population.

Appealing for urgent government action, the Ghinni Ghad Vikas Manch urged the CM to take immediate steps to improve roads, fill vacant posts in schools and provide adequate medical staff and facilities in the six panchayats. “Thousands of residents are forced to live without basic facilities, despite the area’s close proximity to Chandigarh,” the memorandum emphasised.