Malana village gets electricity after 41 days, still cut off by road

The electricity in remote Malana village in Himachal’s Kullu district was finally restored after 41 days on Wednesday. However, the residents of the village remain cut off by road.

Forty-two days have gone by since a cloudburst triggered flashfloods that wreaked havoc in the area, but life has still not returned to normal for the residents.

Help from the district administration had arrived every now and then in the form of essential supplies which were delivered by administration-engaged laborers who trekked long distances on foot.

Ramji Thakur, Malana panchayat deputy sarpanch said that people were relieved after the electricity was restored to the village. “However, the road connectivity remains to be restored due to which residents have been facing challenges. The administration is setting up a cableway, but we do not know how long that will take,” he said.

Thakur also said that the residents who buy essentials from the local shops in the village are getting them at higher rates. “They also get their stuff through laborers and they sell it at higher rates. Almost everything is sold at a higher price here,” he added.

He said that while the administration had sent medicine supplies to the village, critical patients had to be carried on foot to the hospital in a nearby area.

The disaster left the road leading to the village severely damaged and locals constructed a makeshift wooden bridge. With the collective efforts of the locals a helipad was also constructed at a selected site to enable the landing of a chopper for the delivery of essential supplies. The administration had decided to provide the supply of essentials by engaging labourers.

Kullu sub-divisional magistrate Vikas Shukla said that the electricity supply has been restored with the help of the company which operates the Malana power plant. We are also constructing a cableway span which would establish connectivity to the village. We have already completed around 1,100 meters of the cableway and another around 1,800 meters is pending for which the work is going on,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shukla also said the administration also plans to establish a bridle path for which the forest department has been directed to make preparations.

While the cableway span may take another month to complete, the time required to restore road connectivity remains uncertain.