Link road washed away, several villages cut off from Parwanoo

Residents of several villagers lying on the Bhojnagar-Chakki link road have been cut off from Parwanoo town after a 60-m stretch of the road was washed away at Tadol village following heavy rains which lashed the area two days ago.

Mounds of muck and uprooted trees flowed down from the hill and erosion was continuing as the soil has become vulnerable due to water seepage.

Residents of Bhojnagar village, which lies 3 kms from the affected site, will have to take a detour from Kumarhatti to reach Parwanoo. Similarly, commuters from Chakki Mor will also be inconvenienced for commuting to Bhojnagar and other nearby villages lying on the affected road which has been rendered inaccessible.

Pertinently, Kaushalya river lies 100 m downstream from the affected stretch where land had subsided.

Executive Engineer, Public Works Department (PWD), Gurminder Rana, who inspected the site with a team of geologists, stated that “A stretch of 100 m on the Bhojnagar-Chakki Mor is highly vulnerable to erosion because of the presence of clayey soil. It typically erodes when there is a heavy rainfall owing to increased water content.”

He added that requisite protection measures would be taken after a thorough soil investigation by geologists and other technical experts to ensure stability. He informed that the road had started eroding in the torrential rain of 2023 but the access had not been washed away and commuters managed to cross the road. Though cursory measures were taken to address the problem, permanent protection work could not be initiated owing to the vulnerability of the area.

With cracks appearing on the walls of a government primary school, Tadol, housed in two rooms, it has also become unsafe. The building was located on the road head and it could face more damage if cracks widen, informed the officer.

The Block Elementary Education Officer, Dharampur, inspected the school today along with the school management committee and the panchayat members. They decided to shift the school to a community hall in view of the widening cracks which could engender the inmates.

Seven children study in the primary section and nine in the pre-primary section with a single teacher working in the school.

Himachal Tribune