Munish Sood
MANDI: Illegal dumping of debris by a highway construction company near Paarchhu bridge on the Sarkaghat–Dharampur highway in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh culminated in a man-made disaster.
A temporary mud wall, created by unregulated dumping of thousands of tonnes of construction waste on the Gassian Khad, turned into an accidental dam following heavy rainfall, submerging the revered Gassian Mata Temple, a cremation ground, the Jal Shakti Department’s pump house and large patches of surrounding forest land.
“This was not a natural calamity but a disaster waiting to happen. The district administration, despite being fully aware of the illegal soil accumulation for months, did little to prevent it,” said a resident.
Where was the administration all this while, ask residents
Local residents, panchayat heads and activists have raised serious concerns about the continued inaction of the district administration and forest department, which failed to check the company’s blatant violations despite visible environmental risks.
The residents asked why were no early stop-work orders issued, why did it take a full-scale flood and public outrage for action to be taken and what inspections were conducted while thousands of tonnes of debris was being dumped into a water stream over several months.
The debris embankment, formed without engineering approval or environmental clearance, turned into a dam when overnight rains filled the khud. The resulting backflow submerged multiple community assets.
Experts estimate that if the unstable mud wall collapses, over 50 lakh litres of water could flood six surrounding panchayats and key areas of Dharampur, including its central bus stand and market.
Residents launch massive protests
Residents gathered in large numbers near the temple, raising slogans against the construction company and holding the local MLA and district officials responsible for ignoring repeated warnings. Protesters decried that neither were preventive measures taken, nor was the company held accountable until after the damage was done.
The situation intensified when Project Director Romi Dhankhar of the construction company arrived and faced public outrage. It was only after intervention by zila parishad member Vandana Guleria and SDM Swati Dogra that tensions were eased.
Company forced to sign written assurance
In an emergency meeting held at the site, the company gave a written commitment to the SDMs of Sarkaghat and Dharampur, temple authorities and heads of six affected panchayats.
Key terms of the agreement include:
- Full compensation for all structural and cultural damage to the Gassian Mata Temple, including idol restoration, building repair and repainting within 15 days of water recession.
- Rehabilitation of the cremation ground and the Jal Shakti pump house.
- Clean-up of debris and environmental restoration under official supervision.
Controlled drainage in progress, but risk still looms
Deputy Commissioner Apoorv Devgan confirmed that six excavators, five JCBs and eight dumpers are working round the clock to ensure controlled drainage of the water reservoir, minimising risks to downstream villages.
He also admitted that the construction company has been fined by the Forest Department and Environment Control Board for violations.
Dharampur MLA Chandrashekhar, who visited the site, directed officials to expedite relief work and assured that preventive measures would be taken in the future.
