Villagers protest construction waste dumping on Mandi highway

Residents of Rachhwana, Trambi and Gatarbag villages gathered at the plant of a private construction company located at Devdhar late on Saturday to protest against illegal dumping allegedly by it on the Mandi-Kotli-Jalandhar highway. This activity, the protesters alleged, was endangering their villages.

The protesters staged a demonstration demanding immediate action to mitigate the risk posed by the dumped material to their homes, roads and public facilities.

The protesters alleged that the company had illegally created dumping sites at around 5–6 locations above their villages. Due to heavy rainfall in the region, debris from these sites has cascaded down into the villages, causing large-scale destruction.

They said the main road connecting the village had been completely blocked for the past one month, isolating the community. The community centre at Rachhwana had been damaged and several homes, cowsheds and toilets had developed cracks or were buried under debris. Villagers were forced to walk 5 km through debris to reach the main road. The Tehsildar Sadar visited the site and directed the company to address the villagers’ concerns.

Company official assured the protesters that the company would take steps to provide relief to the affected families.