CHANDIGARH: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament and Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut faced protests during her visit to Manali following the recent landslides triggered by cloudbursts and heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh.
As Kangana, the MP from Mandi, visited the Patlikuhal area, angry locals chanted slogans such as "Kangana Go Back" and “You Are Late”, expressing frustration over her delayed visit to assess the destruction caused by the natural disaster. Some reportedly asked her to leave the area.
Tensions escalated as heated arguments broke out between the locals and BJP leaders accompanying Kangana. Police had to intervene to restore order.
Viral videos from the scene show residents holding black flags and shouting slogans near the carcade of the actor-politician in Patlikuhal, clearly voicing their displeasure.
In one such video, Kangana is seen responding emotionally to the backlash:
“My restaurant is also here, and it made a sale of only Rs 50 yesterday. We pay Rs 15 lakh in salaries alone, and we could only do Rs 50 worth of business. Imagine what I must be going through. Please understand my pain. I am a Himachali. I am a single woman. Don’t attack me as if I’m doing nothing. Don’t treat me like I’m the Queen of England,” she said.
Kangana also appeared to shift focus toward the Congress-led state government, saying: “We are here to assess what work has been done and what the state government has actually done.”
During an interaction with a woman who attempted to question her about the flood situation, Kangana responded sharply: “Have you come to attack me or question me? If you come to harass us, how will we be able to work?”
Earlier in the day, Kangana visited disaster-affected areas of Solang and Palchan in the Manali subdivision. She interacted with affected residents and took stock of the situation. BJP leader and former MLA from Manali, Govind Singh Thakur, briefed her on the infrastructure damage and other losses.
He informed that families from 15 to 16 damaged houses had been shifted to safer locations.
The Right Bank Road of Manali, which connects Kullu city, the bus stand, and Bindu Dhank, has suffered extensive damage. In Kullu’s Ramshele area, a house was destroyed. Floodwaters entered homes in the 14 Mile area near Manali, and a fish farm was damaged in Patlikuhal, as rivers and drains overflowed.
Locals informed Kangana that the entire Solang village is at risk of sliding, as the Beas River continues to erode the mountain it sits on. They stressed that the only solution is to divert the river’s course by channelizing the water.