Landslide threat: Govt relocates Kalang locals

Shimla: The Mandi district administration has started temporarily relocating residents of Kalang village, located near Prashar Lake in Mandi district, due to a landslide threat to the village. Mandi ADM Madan Kumar said that 14 families were shifted to tents that were pitched at a safer location.

"We have made water and power facilities available at the temporary location. We also offered to provide food, but the villagers have not yet agreed to this," said the ADM. The district administration's decision came after villagers complained of huge fissures in the land just below the village. "A team from the Geological Survey of India visited the area last year and conducted an investigation here after residents complained of a landslide threat to their village. We decided to temporarily relocate the residents as this year the problem appears to have worsened," said the ADM. He added that the families would live in the tents until the potential landslide situation improves. Last week, a large portion of the hill below the village slid down following torrential rainfall, leaving 14 families sleepless and in panic. According to local residents, the sinking of hills in this area began as early as 2023. Three families, who live just below Kalang, have already abandoned their homes and taken refuge in safer places.

Meanwhile, as many as 199 roads remained blocked in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, with the highest number, 141, in the disaster-hit Mandi district.

\According to the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), in Mandi, a maximum of 91 roads continued to be blocked in the flood-hit Seraj area of the district. Power and water supply were also not fully restored in the affected areas, as 55 transformers were non-functional in Gohar sub-division and 70 water supplies were still to be restored in Thunag sub-division on Tuesday.

In light of the devastation in various parts of Mandi district, Prof Anupama Singh, social worker and former pro-vice-chancellor of Sardar Patel University, Mandi, said on Tuesday that the film fraternity and business community of India should pitch in to help the victims. "The calamity has resulted in around 50 deaths and more than 10,000 people displaced," she said in a statement.