Kullu: Environmentalists continue to oppose ongoing flood-protection work in the Beas riverbed along the Kullu-Manali highway, with Himalaya Niti Abhiyan (HNA) coordinator Guman Singh calling the excavation a “rape of the river” and questioning the legality of construction within the active river channel, the lack of oversight by govt agencies and the effectiveness of costly concrete embankments.After conducting a survey of flood-protection work by a team of the HNA, an environmental NGO, Gurnam Singh alleged that heavy machinery was excavating the riverbed at multiple locations, while authorities had failed to take adequate cognisance of the work. “Entire Beas river, from Kullu up to Manali, is being excavated everywhere using large machines. This is a massive violation of environmental laws and nothing but rape of the Beas river,” said Singh.The NHAI has launched a Rs 468-crore project to protect vulnerable stretches of the Kullu-Manali highway following repeated flood damage between 2023 and 2025. Gurnam Singh questioned the rationale for describing the ongoing work as flood control, arguing that protecting road infrastructure was different from managing a river’s flood behaviour.“How can the NHAI do flood control work? It actually falls under the state government, not is not in the purview of the central government. However, for NHAI to claim that it will also do flood control is completely illegal on their part,” alleged Gurnam Singh.He warned that channelisation and concrete embankments would fail to control floods and might even result in more devastation. “Worldwide it’s proven that channelisation and embankments have not solved the problem flooding. Rather, such measures have caused even more damage,” he added.Separately, the Ludhiana-based Public Action Committee (PAC) has already served a legal notice to the NHAI, demanding suspension of the RCC retaining-wall work until the project’s statutory approvals and environmental safeguards are verified.The PAC has warned that construction within the active river channel could narrow the watercourse, redirect currents towards adjoining banks, intensify erosion and disrupt sediment movement.NHAI’s proposed protection works cover vulnerable locations along the Kullu-Manali highway, including Ramshila, the Vaishno Devi Temple area, Seobagh Bridge, Bandrol, Green Tax Barrier, Manali bypass, Bran, Raison, Dohlunala, Patlikuhl, 14 Mile, 16 Mile, 17 Mile, Aloo Ground, Klath and Bindu Dhank.
