Receding Pong Lake revives hope for bridge to reconnect 30,000 villagers

As the water level of the Pong Lake recedes from this year’s peak of 1,390 feet, residents of Nandpur Bhatoli and nearby villages are hoping for the restoration of road connectivity severed since the onset of the monsoon. The falling water level will also enable the resumption of construction on a long-delayed bridge, stalled for months by the backwaters.

Each year, when the monsoon swells Pong Lake, nearly 30,000 people are cut off from essential services. For a distance of just four kilometres, residents are forced to travel nearly 25 km to reach the nearest hospital, tehsil office, court, police station and college.

Dehra MLA Kamlesh Thakur visited the site on Thursday to inspect the under-construction bridge, locally known as the ‘Nand Nala’ bridge, which has been hampered by flooding. Estimated at Rs 11 crore, the project has been described as a lifeline for villagers isolated since the Pong Dam came into existence in the early 1970s. Thakur directed Public Works Department officials to restart work immediately, offering relief to locals who have faced repeated disruption for decades.

Over 50 villages were submerged by the Pong Dam, displacing over 20,000 households in what locals still recall as the worst displacement in India’s history. The region, once known as the granary of Kangra district, was acquired at nominal compensation, leaving deep scars among those affected.

Today, around 50 peripheral villages stretching from Dadasiba to Dhameta — along a 60-km stretch of the Pong Lake’s banks — continue to struggle with poor connectivity. With the Kangra Valley train, once the region’s lifeline, remaining non-operational for years, reliable roads have become essential for access to healthcare and education.

For the dam oustees who rebuild their lives each season as the waters recede, the slow re-emergence of their submerged lands remains a bittersweet reminder of a displacement that began over 50 years ago.