Multhan incident: 2 days on, relief & rehab work yet to begin

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, May 12

Two days after over 100 people at Multhan village of Baijnath tehsil were rendered jobless and homeless after the penstock of 25 Megawatt Kundah Pumped (KU) Hydropower Project burst on Friday, the relief and rehabilitation work is yet to start. Senior officials of KU Hydropower Project company reached Multhan last night from Hyderabad.

The floodwater has damaged 50 houses, shops, hotels and restaurants in the Multhan market. Besides, the Multhan branch of Punjab National Bank, tehsil office, the state government’s fair price shop, a BSNL telephone exchange and the office of Horticulture Officer have suffered extensive damage.

Probe on

Technical glitches and shortcomings will be looked into during the investigation. Officials from the State Power Corporation will assist in the probe. — DC Thakur, Baijnath SDM

A team of The Tribune, which visited the affected areas last evening, was witness to a deserted Multhan market with most shops closed. A few residents were busy removing mud and debris from their shops and houses to salvage their belongings. Official records reveal that over 70 houses and shop have suffered heavy damage.

Many villagers claimed that the penstock had been leaking for one year while it was in the testing stage. Though the company had repaired the penstock, it burst due to the poor quality of construction, they said.

Talking to The Tribune, many villagers said a flood-like situation had arisen at Multhan village after the penstock burst.

Due to intermittent rain in the upper areas, water is now entering the market. No efforts have been made by the administration so far to remove the debris or divert the flow of water towards Uhl river.

Baijnath SDM DC Thakur and Palampur DSP Lokinder Negi, who have been camping at Multhan for the past two days, held meetings with the management of the company.

They said the company had, in principle, agreed to pay compensation at market rate for the losses caused to public property. The SDM said a team of the Revenue Department, along with PWD officials, had been assigned the job to prepare an inventory of loss, which would be submitted to the company. The company would then deposit the compensation amount in the bank accounts of the affected people, he added.

The DSP said a FIR had already been registered and investigation into the incident was underway. The police were procuring documents from the company as well as from the state departments as part of the probe. He said no arrest had been made so far.

“Technical glitches and other shortcomings will also be looked into during the investigation. Officials from the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited will assist the probe,” the Baijnath SDM added.

The incident has led to panic in the area, with villagers demanding action against the project management.

The hydropower project, located at a height of 7,000 feet above sea level, is constructed on Lamba Dug river, a tributary of the Beas.

Meanwhile, Himalayan Niti Abhiyan coordinator Guman Singh, in a press statement, today said the state government should give a second thought to the execution and construction of power projects in the Himalayan region.

He said power companies engaged in work had wreaked havoc on the nature in the Himalayan ranges, keeping aside environmental laws.

Singh regretted that till date, the state and Central governments had failed to initiate action against the erring power companies.

He said the Multhan incident was an eye-opener for the state government and it must initiate steps for the safety of the people residing around hydropower projects.