Four flood-affected family leave their Sainj homes after nine months

Many more hope to follow suit, however, four people from Satesh village in Kullu’s Sainj valley were forced to leave their homes when the Pin Parvati river flooded last year, making their homes unsafe.

To save their homes and property, the villagers claim they have been pleading with the government and administration for the building of a security wall and river dredging, but to no effect. They claim that since the government is not considering their appeal, they are compelled to relocate to safer locations.

A peasant named Prem Chand said, “Last year, nearly 200 fruit-bearing areas were damaged and about 15 bighas of land were washed away during the natural disaster.” Months before the rainy season, the locals are already concerned about the lack of protective measures.

Similar complaints were expressed by Raj Kumar, another villager, who said, “Even nine months after the disaster, no such measures have been taken to protect Satesh village. The administration has started dredging work to divert the river and has also taken up construction of concrete walls at many places.”

The residents warned that in the future, homes and orchards that are susceptible to flooding would not be able to withstand the fury of nature.

“Accessibility to the village has been hampered as pathways have been destroyed and no one is taking care of them,” said Gyan Chand, another resident.

The residents had called for the building of a footbridge over the river, but the project has not yet begun. He said that the administration’s and government’s callousness was the reason why people were compelled to abandon their homes and lands.

Villagers Sher Singh, Sita Devi, Lal Krishan, and Prakash Chand lamented that they were forced to leave because there was no safe way to get to the village and no proactive measures were being taken by the administration to save their land and houses. They are now living in rented accommodations.

SDM Banjar Pankaj Sharma said that the villagers made concerns and requests during yesterday’s village visit, which he believed to be sincere.

He promised to bring the issue to the attention of the higher authorities and to work on prioritizing the villagers’ needs before the rainy season.

He continued, saying that the model code of conduct was in effect and that this might cause a further delay in the beginning of the work on protective measures.