Himachal: Villagers in Jawali begin rebuilding stairs demolished for road project

Himachal Pradesh: The residents of Trilokpur Gram Panchayat in the Jawali subdivision near Kangra district have stepped forward and begun rebuilding the stairs, the shortest access to their village. This happened after the construction company hired by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for a road-widening project failed to complete the work. While widening the existing Pathankot-Mandi National Highway 154 for a four-lane project, the construction company demolished the old stairs leading from the local Shiva temple to Trilokpur village, angering both the devotees visiting the temple and the villagers. Anger is growing among locals and devotees who are waiting for the stairs to be rebuilt, claiming the road construction company had promised to do so when it demolished them. Despite repeated complaints to the relevant authorities, which reportedly yielded no results, the villagers came together to rebuild the concrete stairs themselves. People are paying from their own pockets and volunteering to work for the public good. Those paying include Rajinder Guleria, Ravinder Gupta, Chhotu Ram, Ravi Kumar, Buddhi Singh, Sunny, Ashwani, and Pritam. They lament that they have repeatedly spoken to the district and subdivision administrations, but the construction company has not repaired the broken stairs. The villagers say the stairs have been in use for over six decades and are a vital access point to the village. They add, “Despite assurances, the company hasn’t rebuilt the broken stairs, forcing people to do the work themselves.” Durga Das, the current head of the Trilokpur Gram Panchayat, says he has repeatedly visited the Kangra Deputy Commissioner, the Jawali SDM, the NHAI Project Director in Palampur, and the road construction company’s office in Kotla over the past three years, submitting memorandums to them to repair the stairs. He alleges that approximately 150 of the 300 concrete stairs were broken more than three years ago, cutting off a vital access point to the village. The village panchayat initially repaired the staircase in 1965 and later replaced it with interlocking tiles at a cost of ₹7 lakh in 2012. Das claims the village panchayat was not given any compensation before or after the demolition of half of the concrete staircase.