Soil erosion threatens HP village

CHANDIGARH, Aug 18: Bahanu, an isolated village, located 4 km before Manali across Beas river, is under threat due to heavy soil erosion ...

CHANDIGARH, Aug 18: Bahanu, an isolated village, located 4 km before Manali across Beas river, is under threat due to heavy soil erosion near the village. Surprisingly, the government has failed to take any steps to discontinue the erosion despite repeated representations made by Gram Panchayat Jagat Sukh and the village’s Mahila Mandal since 1995 when a foot bridge over Beas was swept away in flash floods. In fact, the sliding portion, adjacent to the village, is a result of the flash floods.

The floods were also the cause of unprecedented erosion in the area adjoining the village thus ruining prime agricultural land and apple orchards of the locals. Two residents, Tej Ram and Jagat Ram, had to get their houses demolished before the erosion could cause damage to their residences. In another corner, many local villagers lost their farmhouses.

At present, the houses of two local residents, Daulat Ram and Tej Ram, are reported to be situated barely 15 feet from the sliding stretch adjoining the village.

Story continues below this ad

Kuldeep Thakur, a local apple grower, in a informal meeting with ENS, said, “even the agricultural land belonging to the residents of Vashisht village is under threat of getting ruined.”

The little protection work that was carried out below the sliding portion on the left bank of Beas near the village is described as an eyewash by the villagers.

When ENS contacted P. K. Sharma, soil conservation officer, he said that the department had funds for the treatment of agricultural lands damaged by slips and soil erosion and for launching of community irrigation scheme.

The department would soon conduct an extensive survey of the agricultural land that was damaged following the erosion, he added.

Story continues below this ad

On the other hand, divisional forest officer H. S. Dogra expressed the department’s inability to carry out the work carried at the sliding portion since there was no separate budget sanctioned for this kind of work.

“However, we have been promoting tree cover at the sliding portions inside the forests in order to further check the soil erosion,” Dogra added.

Besides, sources at the newly-created Flood Control Division disclosed that an estimate of Rs 91 lakh had been sent to the local Irrigation and Public Health Department circle for protection work in Bahanu and its surrounding areas.

Once the estimate was approved, work would be started, they added.