Panic after cracks in school and houses in Himachal’s Diod village, people said- what is the guarantee?

The work of filling the huge hole created due to the land sinking above the Diod tunnel near Pandoh in Himachal Pradesh is going on at a fast pace. However, people are scared after cracks appeared in the government school and many nearby houses.

Krishna Bihari Singh talks, MandiSun, 22 Sep 2024 04:14 PM Share

Recently, a part of the tunnel collapsed in Diod village near Pandoh in Himachal Pradesh. The size of the pit was continuously increasing. Not only this, many houses including the government school had developed big cracks. Due to this, 8 families had vacated their houses and started living in rented houses. Now about 80 percent of the work of filling the huge pit formed due to the sinking of the ground above the Diod tunnel has been completed. Still, panic remains among the people. People are asking what is the guarantee that the ground will not collapse here in future.

According to a report by news agency Univarta, about 80 percent of the work of filling the huge pit created due to the land sinking above the Diode tunnel has been completed. So far, more than 100 stone tippers and about 30 concrete TMs have been put into the pit to fill the ditch. Now it is expected that the work will be completed by tomorrow afternoon. After this, its strength will be tested. Adarsh ​​Panhotra, team leader of Shahpurji-Palonji company, said that efforts are being made to fulfill the promise made by the company management to the people.

Roshni Devi, Pradhan of Gram Panchayat Hatoun, said that the company management is filling the pit but the village is still in danger. People who have vacated their homes are forced to live with their relatives or in rented houses. There is no guarantee that the land will not sink in the future. If the company management gives a guarantee for this, then people will think about coming back to their homes. Otherwise, the company management should help the affected people and make proper arrangements for their stay.

People also said that until the situation becomes normal, the company management should provide vehicles for transportation to the people. At the same time, the Public Works Department and the Board have written a letter to the administration to get the road from Diod to Hatoun village repaired through NHAI. Executive Engineer E. Vinod Sharma said that after this incident, the road from Diod to Hatoun has been damaged a lot. The road should be repaired with immediate effect because this project is under NHAI.

It is noteworthy that a huge crater has formed right above the tunnel being built for the four-lane construction near Diod near Pandoh since September 18. Along with this, huge cracks have appeared in the government school and many nearby houses. The situation is such that eight families have vacated their homes. These people have gone to live in rented houses. After the incident, the local people have appealed to the company management to take effective steps to prevent the land from sinking.