Hotels, dhabas on Parwanoo-Dharampur stretch damaged in rain, owners await compensation

Ambika Sharma

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Solan, September 15

Several hotels and dhabas located on the Parwanoo-Dharampur stretch of the National Highway (NH)-5 have been damaged in the rain fury following seepage of water from the road.

At least six buildings, including a hotel, a dhabha and houses, lying below the road on the valley side were damaged at Sanwara following torrential rain in August. An eating joint at Dharampur has also suffered huge damage after the highway above it sank by more than two feet after heavy rain.

“Initially, cracks appeared on the surface of the road and later the highway sank at Dharampur. Our building located on the valley side below the road became unsafe as cracks started appearing along its entire length of 150 feet,” alleged Subash, eatery owner at Dharampur.

He said that it had been a month since the eatery was closed and the restoration work began after rain abated. The eatery owners have demanded compensation from the NHAI as they blame water seepage as the key cause of damage caused to their buildings. The state government is providing monetary help as per its relief manual.

“The state government has extended relief as per the relief manual. An amount of Rs 1 lakh has been given for partially damaged buildings and Rs 1.30 lakh for fully damaged buildings at Sanwara,” said SDM, Kasauli, Gaurav Mahajan. Several showrooms located next to the eatery at Dharmapur have also been shut.

“Gushing water entered a hotel at Sanwara located below the road, badly damaging the multi-storey building. Not only has a sizable chunk of the road caved in after the appearance of huge cracks on its surface but also a crash barrier has been damaged,” said a hotel owner.

Meanwhile, NHAI officials, who examined such spots, said the damage was caused due to torrential rain. “The NHAI does not pay compensation for buildings damaged outside the right of way (RoW) which is the area of the road acquired for construction. The damage caused to a hotel and a dhabha at Sanwara fall outside the RoW,” said Anand Dahiya, Project Director, NHAI.

He added that though compensation was paid to the buildings damaged during the construction period outside the RoW but no such norm existed in the NHAI manual.

Water seepage

The eatery owners have demanded compensation from the NHAI as they blame water seepage as the key cause of damage caused to their buildings. The state government is providing monetary help as per its relief manual.