Flood in Neugal Khad swept away Sourav Van Vihar of Palampur

Dharamshala, September 24, 2018: On Sunday night, there was an occurrence of cloudburst in the upper area of Palampur, around 35 kms from here. The water level in the Neugal Khud hence forth increased in the midnight, and changed its course to sweep away Saurabh Van Vihar, a lovely tourist spot built by spending crore of rupees in Palampur. The water flow was devastated by floods in Neugal Khud, which is one of the major tributaries of river Beas, lake built here for boating has now totally an area of stones and silt. The police and fire department rescued the two security officers of van vihar trapped in the night. Apart from this, a car has swept away into the water. The administration has asked all the people living around the Neugal Khud region to be alert. The people living nearby said that there was a lot of water coming in the Neugal Khud at night due to cloudburst in the catchment area . The existence of the lake has been completely eradicated. The Neugal Khud is now flowing through the remains of Saurabh Van Vihar, a car parked with the gate of Van Vihar was also been swept away. There is no population in this area close by, but a power project was setup on the upper hillside, as the water level in the dam site of the Om Power Project started rising , 5 employees deployed on the Dam site were immediately brought to the safe place. Om Prakash Project's representative Dinesh Nag said that on Sunday evening, around 7:30 pm, there was a report of cloudburst in the upper area of the dam site, after which the water level increased, so that 5 employees were immediately taken to the safe place on the Dam site. At the same time, the police also rescued 30 laborers stranded in Miza area. DSP Palampur Vikas Dhiman alerted the public, while stating, “After getting the information, of the cloud burst all the people living near the Neugal Khud have been asked to be alert. Sub-divisional officer Sanjay Kumar said that after the information of the cloudburst in the upper area of Palampur, the field staff of the concerned departments was alerted. Field staff will soon be sent to the upper area, to assess the loss incurred by the incident. Saurabh Van Vihar was a nature park built on the foothills of the mighty Dhauladhars in the memory of the Kargil war hero Capt. Saurabh Kalia. It is just a few minutes’ drive from the main town of Palampur. It’s a well-designed nature park with well-defined walking trails. Water for artificial lake here was diverted from the nearby Neugal Khud, so that visitors could enjoy boating. There were some wonderful bird houses built inside the park to attract birds. Now the question raises that why the threat of flood was not kept in mind while choosing this site for such venture.