Nine months on, four flood-hit families evacuate Sainj houses

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, April 17

While four families of Satesh village in Kullu’s Sainj valley have been forced to evacuate their houses that became vulnerable after last year’s floods in Pin Parvati river, many others are planning to follow suit.

The villagers say they have been demanding from the administration and government dredging of the river and construction of a security wall to protect their houses and land, but to no avail. They allege that they are forced to migrate to safer places as the administration is not heeding to their appeal.

Threat from river

• Villagers demand dredging of river and construction of a security wall to protect their houses and land.
• They allege they are forced to migrate to safer places as the administration is not heeding to their request.
• 15 bighas of land was washed away and nearly 200 fruit bearing-were damaged in natural disaster last year, says a villager.
• SDM says efforts will be made to meet the villagers’ demands.

Prem Chand, a villager, said, “About 15 bighas of land was washed away during the natural disaster and nearly 200 fruit bearing-were damaged last year. The villagers are now worried, months ahead of the rainy season, in the absence of protection measures.”

Echoing similar sentiments, another villager, Raj Kumar, alleged, “While the administration has started dredging work to divert the river and has also taken up construction of concrete walls at many places, no such measures have been taken up to protect Satesh village even nine months after the disaster.”

The villagers said orchards and houses vulnerable to floods would not be able bear the nature’s onslaught in future.

Another resident, Gyan Chand, said, “Accessibility to the village has been hampered as pathways have been destroyed and no one is taking care of them.

The villagers had demanded the construction of a footbridge on the river, but the work has not started.” He alleged that people were forced to leave their houses and land due to the apathetic attitude of the government and administration.

Villagers Sher Singh, Sita Devi, Lal Krishan and Prakash Chand, who have abandoned their houses and are now living in rented accommodations, rued that there was neither a safe way to reach the village nor concrete steps were being taken up by the administration to save their land and houses, which forced them to leave.

Banjar SDM Pankaj Sharma said during the inspection of the village yesterday, the villagers raised their concerns and aired demands, which, he felt, were genuine.

He said the high-ups would be apprised of the matter and efforts would be made to meet the villagers’ demands on priority before the rainy season.”

However, the model code of conduct was in force and this might further delay the start of the work on protection measures, he added.

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