No road after decade-long wait, villages threaten to cut water supply to Mussoorie

MUSSOORIE: Residents of 10 villages near Mussoorie have threatened to cut off supply from Kolti water pump to the hill town unless work on a motorable road to connect their hamlets, which has been pending for over a decade now, is completed. Residents of another 26 villages have also threatened to disconnect water suply to Mussoorie from an electric pump in their area as work on a road to their villages was also going at a snail’s pace.
Residents of 10 villages said that a 31-km-long Kempty Thathyud Road was promised to them 12 years ago but work on a 10km stretch is yet to be completed.
Sachin Sajwan, a student at a degree college in Mussoorie and a resident of one of the villages, said, “I had to walk four kilometres to the nearest roadhead daily when I was in school. Now I am in college and little has changed over the years.”
Jaipal Kairwan, Block Development Committee member and member of the area panchayat of villages on Kempty Thathyud Road, said, “We have suffered long enough. If we don’t get an assurance from authorities we will stop water supply to Mussoorie from an electric pump located in our region on May 29.”
Over a week ago, 250 villagers held a protest and blocked traffic near Masrana village on Dhanaulti Road. Thirty-six of the protesters were booked for causing traffic jam on a national highway.
The villagers’ agitation has found support from residents of another 26 villages on Johri Khattapani Road who said that work on a motorable road to connect their villages was very slow.
The residents of villages on Kempty Thathyud Road and those on Johri Khattapani Road have written to Mussoorie SHO, Dehradun DM and Mussoorie SDM to request authorities to work on these roads. In their letter, the residents of villages claimed that they would hold a chakka jaam in Landour Chowk and shut water supply to the hill town if their demands were not met.
T S Rawat, assistant engineer, Jal Sansthan, Mussoorie, said, “While Kolti water pump supplies 0.72 million litres per day (MLD) to Landour, the Ginsi pump supplies 2.4 MLD to Library and Gun Hill.”
Executive engineer, PWD, Thathyud, Rajneesh Kumar, told TOI, “The work on Kempty Thathyud Road is underway. Work on a 10km stretch that was stalled has received forest clearance. An estimate of cost of work on the stretch has been sent to higher authorities.”
The engineer working on Johri Khattapnai Road was not available for comment.