Migration, lack of jobs key issues in Dehra bypoll

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, June 15

The Dehra Assembly segment in Kangra district will witness byelection along with the Nalagarh seat in Solan district and the Hamirpur segment on July 10. One of biggest issues in the constituency, which politicians often promise to resolve, is the lack of employment avenues that forces the youth to migrate to other states. The problems of people residing in areas along the Pong Dam lake have remained unresolved for the past 60 years.

In many villages located along the banks of the Pong Dam lake, including Dhar Dangar panchayat, Bangoli, Bhatoli Surokian, Nandpur Bhatoli, Kharian and Sapru Kauragarna, the young population has migrated out of the state for employment. Only aged people reside in their ancestral houses in these villages now.

Jasbir Singh, a panchayat samiti member from Kharian village, said that local residents had lost most of their agricultural land that was acquired for the construction of the Pong Dam lake in 1960s. There was no industry in the area to provide employment to the youth, who had no option but to migrate to cities in adjoining states for jobs. Some of them have constructed pucca houses in their ancestral villages but visit them only on holidays, he added.

Balbir Singh, a resident of Nandpur Bhatoli village, said that there were no employment avenues in the Dehra region. “People have small landholdings surrounded by the Pong Dam wildlife sanctuary. No irrigation facility is available to the farmers of the region and sustainable farming cannot be done. Besides, whatever little farming people do in the region is destroyed by wild animals. Therefore, the youth of the region have no option but to migrate to other states for livelihood,” he added.

Successive governments had talked of developing tourism in the Pong Dam area to generate employment for the local youth. The Pong Dam lake is also an international wetland area that attracts over one lakh migratory birds every year. However, rules governing the Pong Dam wildlife sanctuary do not allow any kind of commercial activity in the area due to which private people are not allowed to develop infrastructure along the dam lake. The government has developed a few sites along the Pong Dam lake through financial assistance from Asian Development Bank (ADB). However, all these sites have turned defunct and have led to wastage of public funds.

A few local entrepreneurs have tried to develop resorts on their private properties along the Pong Dam lake. However, they faced problems in getting road connectivity to their properties as they had to seek permission from the Forest Department and the BBMB, who control the Pong Dam lake, and the Railway Department, as a narrow gauge rail line passes through the area.

No industry, small landholdings

• There is no industry in the Dehra region to provide employment to the youth, who have no option but to migrate to cities in adjoining states for earning livelihood
• People in Dehra have small landholdings surrounded by the Pong Dam wildlife sanctuary
• No irrigation facility is available to the farmers of the region and sustainable farming cannot be done there
• Wild animals destroy whatever little farming people do
• The problems of people residing in areas along the Pong Dam lake have remained unresolved for the past 60 years
• In many villages located along the banks of the Pong Dam lake, only aged people are living in their ancestral houses