Chamba’s Pangi valley struggles amid avalanche, heavy snowfall

Kullu: Food and essential items were air-dropped in an avalanche-struck remote village of Pangi sub-division of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, even as the entire tribal region remained cut off from the rest of the state for more than a week due to recent heavy snowfall. An IAF helicopter dropped rice and flour bags, pulses, oil, and other essential items, including blankets, tarpaulin, warm clothes, shoes, and solar lights, in the Kumar village of Pangi in the morning.
An avalanche struck Kumar village, which is located at an altitude of around 9,000 feet, on Feb 28, damaging four houses. Trilok Thakur, the chairman of the Pangwal Ekta Manch, an NGO that works for the development of Pangi sub-division and requested the state govt for airdropping food in the village, told TOI that there was no other way to help the residents of Kumar village.
"It was difficult for the relief teams to reach the village and provide help, and that's why we requested the state govt to provide a chopper to drop essential items to the villagers. The whole Pangi valley has been inaccessible for 10 days now. We are seeing one of the harshest winter seasons," said Thakur.
Pangi valley witnessed unprecedented heavy snowfall of four to six feet in the last 10 days, resulting in major road, power, and water supply disruptions. "We haven't seen such snowfall in Feb-end and March since 1979. The snow has left us completely disconnected from the rest of the state. Out of the 32 roads in Pangi valley, 30 are still blocked, and people are living in darkness as 36 transformers are non-functional with no electricity in the entire valley for over a week now. The people of Pangi are forced to light lanterns and candles in the evenings," added Thakur.
The 140-km-long Sansari-Killar-Thirot-Tandi (SKTT) road, a lifeline that connects Pangi valley with the neighbouring Lahaul valley, is also blocked at multiple places and is not likely to be opened before the next three to four days. The water supply also remains disrupted in the entire Pangi valley, as in many areas, the water in the pipes has frozen.
"In many villages, which don't have any natural sources of water, people are forced to melt snow for drinking water. We have never seen anything like this before in ages," said Devraj, a resident of Kumar village of Pangi.
On March 2, residents of Dhanala village in Pangi carried a patient, who needed immediate medical treatment, on a stretcher in heavy snow for around 15 km to a helipad in Sach Khas village, from where he was airlifted to Manali.
The Himachal Pradesh School Education Board (HPSEB) has also postponed examinations, including for Classes X and XII, scheduled till March 8, in both the Pangi sub-division and Lahaul-Spiti district. According to residents of Pangi, the board should postpone all the examinations given the present condition in both Lahaul Spiti and Pangi.
"The HPSEB should conduct exams for these two regions after a gap, maybe from the first week of April. There is snow everywhere here with no power, water, or road connectivity. Students are not at all ready for exams. They need some more time," said Ajit Rana, a resident of Luj village in Pangi.
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