CHANDIGARH: After a huge quantity of log woods were sighted afloat the Pandoh Dam recently, Himachal Pradesh Government has ordered an investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over the issue.
In an unusual phenomenon, the presence of large numbers of big logs and trees afloat the river following the torrential heavy rainfall due to cloudbursts that caused flash floods and massive landslides led to allegations of 'illegal felling of trees’.
Thus, taking strict cognisance of the incident, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has handed over the investigations to the CID.
An official said that the state government has taken serious cognizance regarding the matter and would bring out the possible reasons behind the incident.
"The first and foremost reaction to the incidents of series of cloudbursts and floods was to save the lives of people and provide immediate relief to them, wherein effective measures were underway to bring back normalcy in the flood-hit regions," the official also said.
"The videos and photographs of wood flushing down the river and found floating in the Pandoh dam went viral on a few media platforms, raising public concern and prompting calls for investigation. While the government and the administration was busy helping people, the BJP made hue and cry regarding the forest wood without showing any sensitivity and concern for the ones affected by the cloudburst and flash floods,‘’ an official added.
"The BJP leaders were making irresponsible statements at the time of disaster which highlights that the Opposition is highly ignorant and selective when it comes to matters as the issues of illegal felling of trees were never inquired and no accountability was set during their tenure. Rather, the "Van Mafia" had clear support of the BJP and its government in the previous tenures of the BJP government in the state,’’ he said.
The official added that the present state government has set a goal to make Himachal Pradesh a 'Green Energy State' by March 31 2026 and any obstacle or act that stops the government from achieving its target would be dealt with under the rule of the law.
A large quantity of forest wood floating in the Pandoh Dam reservoir of Mandi district had triggered a social media storm, with several users speculating that illegal tree felling in remote forest regions of Kullu district might be the root cause.
A few days ago, HP State Forest Development Corporation Limited Vice Chairman Kehar Singh Khachi dismissed claims of illegal tree-felling as he claimed that the floating logs were only waste material.
"Due to the cloudburst, forest land has suffered a lot of damage, the wood that has come floating in the swelling water bodies is just the waste wood lying on the forest land that was not removed. These waste wood got stuck in a culvert built on the water bodies that was damaged and due to the breakage, the wood in large quantities can be seen floating in such a large quantity,’’ he had said.
Notably, boulders and large pieces of wood led to the jamming of the floodgates of the 100-MW Malana II hydropower facility, located on the Malana a tributary of the Beas river.