Salun village, perched about 50 feet above the Ravi River, experienced its brief moment of national attention on 26 August 2025—a moment that also marked its end. On a dark and rainy afternoon, the small settlement of homes, rajma fields, apple orchards and cattle sheds collapsed into the flooded river within half an hour. Ancestral houses filled with memories, documents and belongings were swept away. Residents who managed to escape watched helplessly as their village disappeared.
Fifteen days later, Santosh Kumar from Salun met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s visit to flood-affected areas of Himachal Pradesh. The Prime Minister assured quick action and coordination of relief efforts, but four months on, residents say nothing has changed. Salun’s story reflects the consequences of dense hydropower development in the Himalayas and the failure of local, state and central agencies to address the resulting risks.
A journey to the site reveals the scale of damage. The Ravi roars beneath the weakened Tiyari bridge, where a Public Works Department notice warns that its abutment is severely damaged and disclaims responsibility for any mishap. Wooden planks swing loose, exposing the river below. Hundreds of schoolchildren still walk across it daily, as it is the only link between the Chamba-Bharmour highway and Tiyari panchayat. On the opposite bank, erosion has stripped away the foundation, exposing steel cables. Nearby houses have been abandoned after earlier floods.
Reaching Salun requires following a difficult trail along the riverbed. The village is now a bare grey scar on the bank, with only a few plastic tents serving as temporary shelters for the displaced. The 2025 floods in the Ravi basin were among the worst recorded, causing widespread destruction. But residents stress that the collapse of Salun was caused not by floods alone, but by the cumulative effects of multiple hydropower projects that altered the river’s behaviour.
Beena Devi, a resident and ward member, points to a large dumping mound of excavated material from an upstream project, contained by retaining walls built deep into the river. Opposite it lies the site where Salun once stood, unprotected from erosion. According to her and other villagers, muck dumping, reservoir fluctuations from a downstream project and rapid releases of water from the upstream powerhouse created continuous pressure on the riverbank. They say that trapped between two hydropower dams, the village had no buffer space left.
Along the Ravi, reservoirs, tunnels and powerhouse discharges have modified the river’s natural flow. Villagers describe severe bank erosion, subsidence and widening cracks in nearby settlements. They argue that abrupt changes in water levels caused by electricity generation—known as hydropeaking—intensified the erosion. Retaining walls built to protect project structures appear to have diverted the force of the river onto the opposite bank, where Salun and the Tiyari bridge stood without any similar reinforcement.
Residents speak with bitterness. Santosh Kumar, whose ancestral home and farmland were lost, now rents a small room in a nearby village. He says their village has survived larger floods in the past without damage, because the river previously had space to spread. He says repeated appeals to officials and project developers yielded only promises. Warning boards remain hanging at the damaged bridge, but no action has been taken to repair or replace it, even though thousands of people depend on it.
District officials acknowledge having received complaints and suggest that a technical report is required before action can be taken. Engineers at both hydropower projects deny responsibility and assert that their priority is continued electricity production. Residents counter that while large sums are allocated to catchment and mitigation plans on paper, no protective measures were implemented where they were most needed.
The collapse of Salun, according to affected families, was a man-made disaster. They argue that environmental governance around hydropower development has failed to consider cumulative impacts, especially in a sensitive region prone to landslides and seismic activity. They call for independent assessment of hydropower impacts in the Ravi basin, proper auditing of muck dumping sites, urgent protection of vulnerable riverbank communities and a comprehensive cumulative impact study before any new projects proceed.
As dusk approaches and river rumblings grow louder under the weakened bridge, the villagers’ fears become palpable. They say the collapse of the bridge is inevitable unless immediate action is taken, and the lives of schoolchildren and daily commuters are at risk. Their appeals reflect a broader crisis in the Himalayas, where rapid construction and inadequate oversight continue despite repeated warnings.
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*With South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People. A version of this article first appeared in SANDRP site. It is based on a visit by a team comprising Madhumita Dutta, Parineeta Dandekar, Abhay Kanvinde and Anup Kumar, who travelled through the flood-affected Ravi basin in October 2025 to gather accounts from local residents and authorities. Pix: Abhay Kanvinde
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