Hydropower firm deposits Rs 1.22 crore compensation for Dharamsala flash flood victims
On June 25, 2025, a cloudburst triggered Manuni floods, sweeping away hydropower project labourers; 7 bodies were recovered during search operation spanning several weeks while 1 worker remains missing
A Dharamsala-based hydropower company has deposited Rs 1.22 crore as compensation for victims of the 2025 flash flood at the Manuni Khad Power Project site near Khaniara village.
The amount was deposited after the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division)-cum-Employees’ Compensation Commissioner, Hakikat Dhanda, directed the employer, Indira Priyadarshini Hydro Power Private Limited, to pay Rs 1.22 crore under the Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923.
The compensation, deposited with the Employees’ Compensation Commissioner’s office, will be disbursed among the dependants of the deceased and missing workers as per norms.
The tragedy occurred on June 25, 2025, when a cloudburst triggered flash floods in the Manuni rivulet. Labourers working at the under-construction Manuni-2 Hydroelectric Power Project, a sister concern of the Indira Priyadarshini project, were swept away in the deluge.
Eight workers were washed away in the incident. While seven bodies were recovered during search operations spanning several weeks, one worker remains missing.
The victims hailed from Kangra and Chamba districts in Himachal, Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir and Deoria in Uttar Pradesh.
The employer had reported the accident but delayed depositing the compensation. Taking note of the delay, the court issued directions to ensure compliance, following which the amount was deposited.
The court also directed that District Legal Services Authorities in Kangra, Chamba, Doda and Deoria assist in the disbursement process. It further allowed transfer of compensation to beneficiaries’ native districts, if required, to spare them repeated visits to Dharamsala.
The incident severely affected multiple families, including two households that lost two members each. In one case, a father and son from Deoria were among the deceased, while a similar loss was reported from Kangra.
Those killed included Chain Singh (Doda), Aditya Thakur (Chamba), Pradeep Verma and his son Chandan (Deoria), Sanjeev Kumar and his son Nitin Kumar (Fatehpur, Kangra) and Paramjeet Singh (Fatehpur). Vipin from Chamba remains missing.
Ravinder Singh Ravi, Himachal general secretary of the Trade Union Coordination Centre (TUCC), who raised the issue of delayed compensation, alleged negligence on the part of the company, stating that labourers’ sheds had been erected on the riverbed, which contributed to the casualties. He claimed the company had initially paid only Rs 1 lakh each to the affected families. A public interest litigation initiated suo motu by the Himachal Pradesh High Court on the basis of a letter by Ravi is pending, with the next hearing scheduled for May 5.
