Blaming Sarbari I Small Hydro Power (HEP) project for causing reoccurring disasters, the villagers of Mashana panchayat in Lag Valley of Kullu district have demanded suspension of the 4.5 Mw project operation. As per the villagers the leakages in the surge shaft and head race tunnel and burst of penstock of the project in August and Sept. months this year have caused landslides and flash flood disasters impacting their land and livelihoods. They have said that due to these disasters about 80 meter Mashana link road, some houses, a water tank and over hundreds of bigha of fertile farmland have been severely damaged.
The demands including restoration of damaged infrastructures and full compensation to affected people were passed as a resolution during a village meeting held on Sept. 21. In the meeting the villagers have also authorized the Pradhan to move High Court or National Green Tribunal (NGT) in case their grievances are not addressed by the government authorities.
Following the meeting the villagers have sent legal notices to Chief Secretary of Himachal Pradesh, Member Secretary of Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (HPSPCB), Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), General Manager of DSL Hydrowatt Ltd to take immediate steps regarding the matter or they will be forced to approach the judiciary to seek criminal actions against the project officials.
As per the Pradhan the damages are a result of negligence by the project. Many houses in Doghari village under the panchayat have developed cracks forcing the villagers to vacate them. But the company has been taking neither actions regarding it, nor responsibility for the damage. He also stated that the first landslide happened about a decade ago when the company built a large surge shaft and about 35 meters long penstock. At that time the construction debris were dumped near the tank. After sometime, the project tunnel and penstock started leaking and the surge shaft tank began overflowing which have caused cracks in the village land.
Villagers say the continuous seepages from project tunnel near the landslide site has endangered the safety of the entire village. They accuse the company for failing to fix the seepage problems and refusing compensation to the affected people. A committee formed by the administration after penstock burst in Sept. have also blamed the company for the landslide. However, the company has so far not restored the damaged road as directed by the committee.
As per the project GM, the landslide was a result of the cloudburst incident causing damages even to the project. He stated that the company will take safety measures according to the recommendations of the committee & following govt directions regarding the compensation.
About the Project: The 4.5 Mw Sarbari-I SHP is built on Sarbari khad, a tributary of Beas river and is located about 14 kms from Kullu town. It became operational in May 2008. The salient feature of the project can be seen here. The tail race water from the project is tapped for the downstream 5.4 Mw Sarbari II SHP powerhouse through 3500 meters long tunnel and 400 meters long penstock. The project became operational in Aug 2010. Both the projects are operated by the DSL Hydrowatt Ltd.
Increasing Disaster: Notably, there have been flash flood and cloud burst incidents in Sarbari nullah of Lag Valley in the first and third week of August 2025 causing significant damages. As per this report, Sarbari nullah is among five streams in Kullu which has been witnessing gradual increase in flash floods in recent decades. The deluge in Sarbari stream in Feb. 2025 had washed away 10 vehicles and damaged homes and cowsheds in July 2023.
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