News
Pangi Valley Cut Off After Floods; Locals Demand Air Evacuation for Stranded Residents
Though no casualties have been reported so far, the damage is extensive.
The recent spell of heavy rain in Chamba district last week caused severe damage to roads and communication networks in the already isolated Pangi Valley.
Border Roads Organisation (BRO) personnel are working to restore the damaged road near Killar, the administrative hub of the remote Pangi Valley.
Raman Gharsangi, acting resident of Pangi, said that continuous rainfall had badly disrupted telecom services, mainly due to faults in the optical fiber cable connecting the valley through Jammu and Kashmir.
Internet and mobile connectivity, which had been down since August 26, is expected to be restored by the evening of August 30.
“The valley has suffered massive losses, including damage to the Bailey bridge at Dharwas Nallah, as well as the Mahalu Nallah, Siddh Mandir, and Sanchu Jot roads,” Gharsangi said.
The Resident Commissioner confirmed that the BRO and the Public Works Department (PWD) had already been directed to ensure immediate restoration of key roads, and clearance work was underway on a war footing.
Gharsangi added that telecom services had now been restored, bringing communication back to normal. A preliminary survey showed that the valley’s lifeline road—the Sansari Nallah-Killar-Thirot-Tandi (SKTT) stretch—had suffered heavy damage, with several other roads and bridges also rendered unusable.
He explained that the disruption of telecom services earlier had delayed reporting of the full extent of destruction to roads, bridges, water schemes, and public and private property.
While no loss of life has been reported, the structural damage is significant. Bridges and culverts at Dharwas, Parghwal Nallah, Mahalu Nallah, and Siddh Mandir have been badly affected. On the Udaipur side, the Dared, Dhandhal, and Jungle Camp Nallah sections have also been severely damaged.
Major Paras, Officer Commanding, BRO, said that the road between Udaipur and Tindi Jungle Camp was reopened on August 30, and work was progressing toward Killar. Additional machinery had been deployed to accelerate restoration of the damaged stretches.
Meanwhile, Trilok Thakur, president of the Pangi community forum Pangwal Ekta Manch, said that many residents of Pangi were stranded in Udaipur (Lahaul-Spiti side) and Bairagarh (Churah side). He appealed for urgent state government intervention, calling for immediate reopening of the Sansari Nallah–Killar–Thirot–Tandi road and repair of all feeder roads, drinking water schemes, and power supply.
Thakur further urged that until full road connectivity is restored, the government should request the Indian Air Force to deploy large helicopters from Udaipur and Bairagarh to Killar for evacuation of stranded people, and to ensure quick transport of patients and urgent cases out of the valley.
He also pressed for emergency medical supplies to be airlifted if required and called for a special inspection team to survey the scale of losses.
