Road-widening: Nurpur locals seek CJ's help to save property

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, May 24

After running from pillar to post for the past over three months seeking safety of their houses and families, residents of Seuni village in Jawali subdivision of Kangra have now urged the Chief Justice of the HP High Court to take cognisance of the state government’s apathy towards the issue.

Residents have been spending sleepless nights since February this year after a private construction company, which is engaged by the NHAI for the widening of the Pathankot-Mandi highway, dumped the excavated waste and muck in their village, posing a threat to the adjoining houses. The affected families have written to the Kangra DC and Jawali SDM against the company, but in vain.

“We are living under a constant fear of calamity. If the construction firm does not shift the dumping site before the monsoon, landslides can damage our properties and even endanger the lives of our family members,” says a local.

The villagers say an official in the SDM’s office, Rishabh Pathania, had inspected the spot and assured them that the dumping site will be cleared by March 15. “On May 1, we again submitted a complaint to the DC, but no action has been initiated till date,” a villager adds.

Jawali SDM Mahinder Pratap Singh says, “I repeatedly directed the construction firm to shift the dumping site, but it failed to act. Now, a notice is being served on the company and an FIR is also being registered.”