Gurdaspur's ‘Us-Paar’ villages still cut off from mainland

Although the flood waters have receded in all seven “Us-Paar” (across Ravi river) villages, residents are still cut off from the mainland as the district administration has yet to reconstruct the pontoon bridge which is the villagers’ only link to the rest of the state.

This development assumes significance as the International Border (IB) is located in this cluster of villages.

Every year, the viaduct is dismantled in June and reconstructed by September-end. This is a precautionary measure during the monsoons as the structure can get washed away when the torrent of water in the Ravi surges abnormally.

Meanwhile, a livid MLA Aruna Chaudhary this evening wrote a strongly worded letter to the PWD Superintending Engineer (SE) Harjot Singh. Sources say the legislator wrote the letter after a delegation of “Us-Paar” farmers met her. She said, “Despite repeated assurances that the work will commence by September-end, no steps to reconstruct the bridge have been taken yet. Farmers are being forced to take their paddy produce to the market through flowing waters of the Ravi on tractor-trailers. This endangers both life and property. This inaction has raised serious concerns. You are, therefore, directed to ensure immediate commencement of the work and expedite the completion to facilitate the safe movement of the farming community.”

Amrik Singh, sarpanch of Bharial village, said, “Till now, absolutely no movement has taken place. We cannot take our paddy to the grain markets of Dinanagar, Gurdaspur or any other town. The district administration has not done anything tangible for us. In the aftermath of the deluge, only NGOs came to our rescue. The administration scores a naught, while credit must be given to these NGOs which, apart from giving us medical aid and ration, also deployed dewatering systems. Even the all-important connection to Gurdaspur district has yet to be established,” he said.

Villagers say they had faced one of the worst floods in decades and are still reeling under its effects. The flood waters had ravaged the area to the extent where a majority of the population was displaced. To aggravate matters, residents cannot visit nearby places as the bridge has yet to come up.

Amrik Singh said on several occasions, villagers had petitioned the administration, but to no avail.

DC Dalwinderjit Singh said he was apprised of the situation and had asked the PWD to start the reassembling process “as soon as possible”.

Sarpanch Amrik Singh said there was consensus among the residents to “request administration officers to come and live with them for a day or two to experience first-hand the conditions in which they were living ever since the floods hit them”.