Shillai villagers in fear as hill erodes

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, July 18

Residents of Ambon village in Shillai of Sirmaur district are living in fear with a hillock overlooking the village eroding in the rains. As a result, a large quantity of water and muck enters the houses located at the base of the hill.

Three families have been evacuated as their houses were inundated amid heavy rain last week. Danger looms as the fragile hillock is eroding with each spell of rain.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Paonta Sahib, Vivek Mahajan, who took stock of the situation along with a team of officials from the Revenue and Public Works Department yesterday, said, “Three families have been shifted. Since the hill continues to erode, it is posing danger to the remaining 60 families in the village.”

The locals said as water flowed down the hill, it flooded their fertile land every time it rained. Despite suffering damage year after year, little has be done to address the problem.

“The possibility of rehabilitating the villagers is also being explored. The move is, however, fraught with problems as an NOC has to be sought from a panchayat where these families would be rehabilitated,” said Mahajan.

He added that the revenue staff were assessing the damage caused to the residents and a report would be sent to the government for undertaking measures to address the problem. Some steps like channeling the water, which flows down from the hill, were being taken.

Locals too are averse to abandoning their houses as they have been residing since decades.

A revenue official said a team of scientists from the Geological Survey of India had surveyed the area some years ago. They had suggested to undertake contouring of the fragile hill in view of the sliding strata but no work could begin following the pandemic since last year.

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