Salogra villagers, NHAI at loggerheads over culvert

Ambika Sharma

Solan, June 6

Residents of Salogra village on the Solan-Kandaghat section of National Highway 5 were at loggerheads on Thursday after gushing water from a culvert on the highway caused damage to their houses and arable land.

Solan SDM visits site

The Solan SDM visited the site after NHAI officials gave a representation to the Deputy Commissioner as the villagers had closed the culvert on their own fearing more damage.

Last evening, heavy rain lashed the area and gushing water from the culvert demolished the wall of a house and muck piled up in another house. Besides, the rain led to slush in arable land. The standing crop of the villagers was destroyed.

A team of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials, which visited the site on Thursday morning, had to bear the brunt of angry villagers.

Achal Jindal, technical manager, NHAI, Shimla said they had visited the site on Thursday morning where villagers informed them that their houses and fields had suffered damage due to the gushing water from a culvert after Wednesday evening’s rain.

He said it was an old culvert, which has been widened, and efforts will be made to channelise the rainwater through three culverts on that stretch.

The official said the NHAI can only work on the acquired road. Though the NHAI has proposed to set up a dissipator below the culvert to channelise the rainwater, the land below it is private property on which the NHAI cannot carry out any work, he added.

The Solan SDM also visited the site after NHAI officials gave a representation to the Deputy Commissioner as the villagers had closed the culvert on their own fearing more damage.

Besides, a cow shed developed cracks and a power tiller in the fields was damaged after it flowed along with the muck for quite a distance.

Bimla Devi, who works as a mid-day meal worker, said she had constructed a two-room house after much hardships. She said her house suffered damage after being filled with muck. She said she has no place to reside with her ailing son.

Raksha Sharma, another villager, said earlier, there was no culvert at the site and it was constructed under the influence of some powerful people. The villagers rued the ill-design of the highway has created problems for them.

Notably, the NHAI is carrying out four-laning of the highway and the culvert was constructed as per its design. Around 80 per cent work has been completed to widen this section of the highway till Kaithlighat.