Road links snapped, veggie crops decay in Kullu’s Sainj valley fields
Dipender Manta
Mandi, July 29
Vegetables are decaying in the agricultural fields of Sainj valley in Kullu district as these could not be transported to mandis due to the snapping of road connectivity in the region.
Several villages remain cut off
- On July 10, the flooded Sainj river damaged the road leading to the valley beyond Aut. The road links to Sainj, Shainshar, Deuridhar, Gadaparli and Shanghar panchayats have been snapped
- The road leading to Shainshar panchayat from Ropa has been damaged badly
- The PWD has temporarily restored the road up to Ropa from Aut. Shainshar, Deuridhar, Gadaparli and Shanghar panchayats, however, remain cut off even now
- Cash crops, including cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, broccoli etc., worth lakhs of rupees have perished in fields.
On July 10, the flooded Sainj river damaged the road infrastructure leading to this valley beyond Aut. The road links to Sainj, Shainshar, Deuridhar, Gadaparli and Shanghar panchayats have been snapped. Thirty houses and 40 shops were damaged at Sainj on that day.
The Public Works Department, Kullu, has temporarily restored the road up to Ropa from Aut, restoring the road connectivity between Sainj and Ropa. Shainshar, Deuridhar, Gadaparli and Shanghar panchayats, however, remain cut off even now.
Alam Singh Thakur, a farmer of Shainshar panchayat, said, “We are bearing the brunt of the rain disaster. Cash crops, including cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, broccoli etc., worth lakhs of rupees have perished in the fields. The road leading to the Shainshar panchayat from Ropa has been damaged badly. The restoration work will take some more days. We have lost our source of livelihood due to the snapping of road connectivity.”
Vice-Pradhan of the Shainshar panchayat Roshan Lal said, “The farmers of this region are the worst-affected. Cash crops like cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, broccoli have perished in fields. The PWD is trying to restore the road, but it will take time as the damage is extensive.”
Deuridhar gram panchayat pradhan Bhagat Ram said, “Vegetable crops have been damaged completely. The plum crop will be ready for harvesting in the next 10 days. Thereafter, the apple crop will be ready for harvesting. So, we urge the administration to restore the road connectivity at the earliest.”
Kullu Deputy Commissioner Ashutosh Garg said, “The road restoration work is progressing fast. The PWD has been directed to restore on priority the roads in the areas where agriculture and horticulture crops are ready for harvesting. In the areas where the early restoration of roads is not possible, the department has been directed to set up ropeways etc.”
