21 days of darkness: Himcahal’s flood-hit Malana cut-off from the world

Residents in remote Malana village, nestled high in the mountains of Himachal’s Kullu district still remain cut-off by road and plunged into darkness. Twenty-one days have gone by since a cloudburst triggered flashfloods that wreaked havoc in the area, but life has not returned to normal still.
Road connectivity is yet to be restored and power supply is also still disrupted.
Help, however, arrives every now and then in the form of essential supplies being delivered by administration-engaged labourers who trek long distances on foot.
As the disaster left the road leading to the village severely damaged, locals constructed a makeshift wooden bridge and then with the collective efforts of the locals a helipad was also constructed at a selected site to enable the landing of a chopper for the delivery of essential supplies.
However, despite two attempts by the administration, the chopper could not land at the site in the village due to clearance issues with the helipad built by the villagers on the recommendation of the disaster management team.
Ramji Thakur, up-pradhan of Malana panchayat, said the administration has sent ration and other essential supplies for the villagers, adding, “A chopper was sent with supplies but it could not land at the helipad constructed by the villagers. It is taking a lot of time for the labourers to deliver supplies on foot.”
Thakur said the village still does not have electricity, also noting that hundreds of vehicles are also stuck.
Kullu SDM Vikas Shukla said as the chopper could not land, they had engaged around 52 labourers to carry essential supplies manually to the village. “So far, around 7 tonne of supplies have been delivered and by Thursday, it is expected to reach around 9 tonne,” he said, adding that the essential supplies have been provided by some NGOs and no government money has been spent.
“We also plan to deliver solar lights to the villagers, as the electricity is yet to be restored. Doctors have also been stationed there,” he said.
The administration is planning to construct a cableway span which would establish connectivity to the village, which officials said will be completed in another 15 days. A primary school was also damaged during the disaster at the village but students are being taught online while administration claims that a location for offline classes will be decided soon.