Malpa village swamped by tonnes of debris, revival looks

With tonnes of debris swamping Malpa village in the wake of the August 14 landslides that killed five persons and left more than 20 missing, revival of the place and resumption of human habitation there looks nearly impossible, according to an official who took stock of the condition there.
"It has now become almost impossible for Malpa village to resettle again as croresof tonnes of debris has collected on its terrain.
"The huge volume of debris there is almost impossible to dispose of making human habitation in future extremely unlikely," Chief Development Officer of Pithoragarh Ashish Chauhan said on his return from the affected village today.

Landslides triggered by a cloudburst at Malpa on August 14 killed five persons besides leaving 20 villagers and hotel owners missing who remain untraced despite a search operation by the the SDRF, ITBP, SSB and state police still underway.
Malpa village had served for years as a midway camp for Mansarovar pilgrims until 1998 when a huge catastrophe obliterated it.
TheAugust 14 catastrophe was the second-of-its-kind for Malpa village in 20 years and the blow seems fatal for the efforts to revive it.

The 1998 tragedy in Malpa had killed over 255 people including 55 Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims.
Malpa, which served as the mini camp on the trek route to Vyas valley, some 55 km from Dharchula town, used to wear a deserted look before it was brought to life by Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam as a midway camp for Kailash Mansarowar pilgrims when the pilgrimage resumed in 1981.

"Before we started camping batches of pilgrims at Malpa, it was a village of 50 families with a mini market, residential facilities and eateries for the villagers or for the shepherds who used to rest there while crossing to and from Vyans valley villages," KMVN official D K Sharma said.