Monsoon fury road to recovery: Disaster-hit families of Mandi await rehab

Dipender Manta

Mandi, September 5

The rain disaster-hit families of Balichowki, Thunag, Gohar, Kotli and Padhar subdivisions in Mandi district are in utter distress. They have lost all their belongings and agricultural land, which was the source of their livelihood.

Living in temporary relief camps

As many as 80 persons affected by the rain disaster in Balichowki and Thunag areas are living in a temporary shelter at the Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan at Nagvain, 140 at Chhaprahan in Gohar subdivision and 56 at Padhar in school buildings

During the rain disaster on August 13 and 14 and August 22 and 23, their houses had suffered extensive damage, rendering them unsafe for living. Now, these families are putting up at temporary relief camps provided by the district administration.

The data reveals that 64 houses were fully damaged in Balichowki subdivision, 27 in Thunag, 22 in Gohar and 30 in Padhar. Similarly 112 houses were partially damaged in Balichowki, 56 in Thunag, 47 in Gohar and 10 in Padhar. Over 360 families are finding it difficult to cope up with the situation.

Devender Kumar, a resident of Kholanal panchayat in Balichowki subdivision, said, “The monsoon fury has brought doom for us. The flashfloods damaged my house, cow shed and agricultural land along with cash crops and washed away cattle. I lost my source of livelihood and house in this rain disaster. It is very difficult to cope up with the situation without a regular source of income. Like me, other residents of Kholanal panchayat have been hit hard due to the rain disaster, which has left us homeless.”

Chaman Lal, another resident of Kholanal panchayat, said, “We are expecting the state government to rehabilitate us. We need a safe place for our rehabilitation because the current place of living at Kholanal has become unsafe.”

Gurdev Singh, vice-pradhan of Kashoud gram panchayat, said, “On August 23, as many as 11 houses were damaged, while several houses were vacated because of safety concerns. These houses had become unsafe for residing. Around 1,700 bighas of agricultural land was damaged by flashfloods. We lost our source of livelihood and the affected families are living in temporary relief camps. The losses are immense and the government should rehabilitate us as soon as possible.”

The flood-affected residents of Balichowki, Thunag, Gohar and Padhar subdivisions have urged the state government to rehabilitate them as soon as possible.