Kullu: Public outrage and demands for an independent inquiry have intensified over a week after 13 people were killed in a rockfall at Kadu Nala on the Sansari–Killar–Thirot–Tandi (SKTT) road in Lahaul and Spiti.Local residents, activists, and public organisations allege that the July 24 tragedy—where massive falling boulders crushed a vehicle carrying passengers from Tindi in Lahaul to Pangi in Chamba—was caused by severe safety lapses during road-widening work by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). The victims included 11 residents from Pangi valley and a mother and child from Udaipur sub-division.Leading the calls for accountability, Himachal Pradesh State Wool Federation director Veer Singh Rana submitted a memorandum to the Chamba deputy commissioner demanding a magisterial or independent high-level probe. He argued that allowing traffic through an active blasting zone without adequate safety measures constitutes gross negligence. Rana also demanded central financial compensation for the victims’ families and an immediate safety audit of under-construction roads in Pangi.Copies of the memorandum were sent to the defence minister, the director general of BRO, the chief engineer of Project Deepak, the resident commissioner, Pangi, and the sub-divisional magistrate, Pangi.Activist lawyer Sudarshan Thakur and local INTUC president Dhyan Singh Thakur also criticised the BRO’s practices. They alleged that controlled blasting destabilised fragile slopes and that the agency failed to clear loose rocks or manage traffic safely before opening the stretch to commuters.Rejecting the allegations, BRO officer commanding Major Paras stated that the accident was caused by a natural calamity in difficult mountain terrain. He explained that controlled blasting is unavoidable for upgrading the narrow 140-km SKTT road—planned in 2018—into a double-lane highway.Major Paras added that rockfall protection works are underway on identified vulnerable stretches and assured that traffic closures during future blasting operations will be effectively publicised in advance.MSID:: 132804842 413 |
