Bhabhor and Bara Pind villages in Ropar district face existential threat from landslides

The proactive steps taken by the government and administration this monsoon may have helped protect several vital infrastructures in Ropar from the threat of flooding. However, Bhabhor and Bara Pind villages, situated along the banks of Nangal Dam Lake and the Sutlej river, continue to live under the shadow of disaster.

Nearly 80 houses in the village are under constant threat of landslides triggered by heavy rains and soil erosion along the lake banks. Of these, 10 houses have already been vacated on the orders of the local administration as a safety measure, while cracks have appeared in many others. Alarmingly, even a building of the historic Bhabhor Sahib gurdwara is endangered.

In Bara Pind, about 100 houses located on a hillock on the banks of the Sutlej river are threatened with landslides. The residents say they have been making repeated appeals for years to build a permanent retaining wall to safeguard their homes.

Rajvir Kaur, the sarpanch of Bhabhor, told The Tribune that the community has been forced to live in fear every monsoon. “We had pleaded with the administration and drainage department to build a retaining wall. We were given only Rs 8 lakh under MNREGA, which was enough for a small stretch. A portion of that wall has already collapsed in the recent rains. Now, about 80 houses have developed cracks, and the threat is looming larger than ever,” she said.

Former Zila Parishad member Ram Kumar Sahore, a resident of the village, recalled that during the previous Congress government, a budget of Rs 2.5 crore had been approved for the project. “Unfortunately, the wall was never constructed. Today, the people of Bhabhor are paying the price for this delay. If urgent steps are not taken, the houses may literally be swept into Nangal Dam Lake,” he said.

Adding to the gravity of the situation is the fact that Bhabhor is historically significant. The village is home to Gurdwara Bhabhor Sahib, which is associated with the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Sher Singh, a panch of the village, said he had raised the issue as early as March this year. “We informed the authorities about the threat, but nothing of concrete was done. Now, with each spell of rain, the soil keeps slipping, and we watch helplessly. We are only appealing for urgent action before both homes and heritage are lost,” he said.

The local MLA and Punjab Education Minister, Harjot Singh Bains, when contacted, said that 100 houses in Bara Pind and 80 houses in Bhabhor Sahib are endangered due to landslides. The PWD and drainage department are maintaining that the villages do not come under their jurisdiction. “We are trying to arrange funds through the rural development department to protect the houses in both villages. We may also seek a loan from NABARD for a permanent solution to the landslide problem in both villages,” he said.

For the families of Bhabhor and Bara Pind, the wait for government intervention is becoming unbearable. While the administration has succeeded in averting major damage to other infrastructures this year, the cries from Bhabhor remain unaddressed. Unless immediate steps are taken to construct a robust retaining wall, the village faces the grim prospect of losing not just homes but also a portion of the historic gurdwara to the waters of Nangal Dam Lake.