Monsoon miseries remain unabated as heavy rains lash Kumoan region

Monsoon miseries remain unabated as heavy rains lash Kumoan region

B.D. Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, Aug 9

Heavy rains in the interior part of Pithoragarh district added to the monsoon miseries of the people particularly those living in the far flung areas of the district in the last 24 hours, as vehicular contact to Vyans and Johar valleys remain disrupted along with  closure of 24 motor roads including 3 border roads and 21 village roads.

“The vehicular contact to Vyans and Johar valley villagers remained suspended after the  border roads from Dharchula to Tawaghat and Tawaghat to Lipulekh remained closed following deposit of heavy boulders on these roads. We are trying to open these roads,” said M.S. Mahar, District Disaster Management Officer, Pithoragarh.

The villagers of Humera and Kunia villages of Didihat today reached the district headquarter and requested District Magistrate to help open  two motor roads from Adichaura  to Humera and Adichaura to Kunia that remained closed from last two months.” The villagers of these villages are facing difficulty in reaching Didihat market after both these roads were blocked due to landslides following heavy rains in the last week of June this year,” said  Himanshu Chuphal, a youth Congress leader, who submitted a memorandum to Pithoragarh District Magistrate in this regard, today.

Meanwhile, Tanakpur to Pithoragarh National Highway remained closed for over three hours, after heavy debris started slipping on the road from hill side at Bhartoki. ” The national highway has become prone to frequent landslides after the road was converted into a national highway and widened as the National highway authority has failed to treat the sensitive spots before monsoon,” said Rajendra Bhatt, president of Hotel Association in Pithoragarh district.

The representative of 12 families of Umargada sublet of Shilling village of Bangapani sub-division approached the administration today and demanded to shift them from the banks of River Gori as due to lack of protection wall on the banks of the river, the village remains flooded during monsoon every year.” From the year  2013, when 4 residential houses of Umargada sublet were submerged into river due  to floods, we have been demanding a protection wall by the riverside but it could not be constructed resulting into river proceeded towards 12 more residential houses this year,” said  Prakash Goswami, president of  Seemant Development Society, based at Bangapani.