Himachal’s Farmers & Workers Rise Against Highway Chaos
Shimla: Fed up with broken promises, crumbling homes, and vanishing jobs, hundreds of farmers, laborers, and local residents staged an angry protest outside the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) office in Shimla today. Their demands? Simple—dignity, fair compensation, and an end to the destruction unleashed by reckless highway construction.
Why Are People Angry?
- Homes Cracking, Lives Shattered: Unscientific blasting and digging for four-lane highways have left houses with gaping cracks. In Dharmpur (Mandi), a bridge collapsed, and a school hangs on the edge of ruin. In Shimla, one house has already crumbled, and 8-10 others tremble on unstable ground.
- “Where Are Our Jobs?” Despite rules reserving 80% jobs for locals, contractors like Gawar, Bharat, and Singla bring in outsiders while Himachali youth sit unemployed.
- Workers Treated Like Slaves: Laborers—many from poor families—work 12-hour shifts but are paid for only 8. No EPF, no ESI, no holidays. They sleep in cramped sheds, eat substandard food, and face threats from hired goons if they complain.
- Dust, Pollution, Dead Crops: Clouds of dust from construction sites are choking farms, ruining vegetables, and causing respiratory illnesses. Yet, no compensation.
- Illegal Mining & Dumping: Companies are ravaging hillsides with unchecked mining, dumping debris into rivers, and flouting environmental laws—all under the administration’s nose.
“We Won’t Stay Silent Anymore!”
The protest saw fiery speeches from farmers’ leader Dr. Kuldeep Singh Tanwar, CITU’s Vijendra Mehra, and activist Sanjay Chauhan, who warned:
“If NHAI and Gawar Company don’t act now, we’ll shut down highways on August 7 with the biggest protest Himachal has ever seen!”
A delegation later met NHAI officials, demanding:
✔ Immediate compensation for damaged homes and farms.
✔ 4x higher land rates (as ordered by the High Court).
✔ Dust allowance for health-affected families.
✔ Punishment for contractors violating labor laws.
✔ Blacklist Gawar Company for illegal practices.
The Real Villains? A Corrupt Nexus
Protesters slammed the politician-contractor-bureaucrat mafia looting Himachal’s resources. “Why is the government silent when companies break every rule?” asked Ranjana Verma, whose home was destroyed.
What Next?
The ball is now in NHAI’s court. If no action is taken by August 7, the streets of Shimla will echo with even louder cries for justice. As one elderly farmer put it:
“They’re digging our graves while building their highways. We won’t let them.
