Dharampur to Pilot Nature-Based Solutions as Flood-Plain Blunders Come Under Fire
Dharampur/Shimla November 4:
A new collaboration has been launched in Dharampur.
It will pilot nature-based bio-engineering measures.
It will also set up early-warning systems.
The town was battered by massive floods this monsoon.
Experts say the scale of destruction was amplified.
Key infrastructure was built right on the flood plains.
The inter-state bus stand, offices and commercial blocks all sit on the riverbed zone.
This is now being seen as a major planning failure.
Critics point to local leader Mahinder Thakur, during whose tenure these projects came up.
They say clear warnings about flood-plain risks were ignored.
An aerial view shows the bus stand in the foreground.
A power sub-station sits on the left.
Both lie exposed to debris flows that tore through the town.
The new pilot aims to fix past mistakes.
It will stabilise slopes using nature-based engineering.
It will restore natural drainage.
It will strengthen community alerts.
Officials hope the Dharampur model becomes a guide.
They want it adopted across other vulnerable Himalayan towns.
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