Ramban land subsidence widens; around dozen houses in Dhalwas develop cracks

Till the filing of this report about 100 feet of the land below a hamlet had sunk, completely damaging a cowshed, besides causing yawning cracks in about a dozen houses

Following land subsidence in Pernote village of Ramban district, that caused extensive damage to over 30 houses on April 25, around a dozen houses developed massive cracks, this time in ward number 7 in Dhalwas Panchayat which falls just below the 1,000 metre long stretch of the road near Pernote.

People shifting their belongings to safer places after cracks developed in houses of the ward number 7 in Dhalwas panchayat area in Ramban, on Thursday. (HT Photo)

“In Ramban today, within a week of damage to about 30 houses due to land sinking at Pernote, about a dozen houses have been damaged in ward number 7 in Panchayat Dhalwas due to the steady sliding of land since Wednesday night,” said a local Rajinder Kumar.

Till the filing of this report about 100 feet of the land below a hamlet had sunk, completely damaging a cowshed, besides causing yawning cracks in about a dozen houses.

According to villagers the recent incessant rain fall for three-days caused the sinking of land.

An official informed that the administration has shifted four families to a nearby makeshift shed of public works department after the spot verification and assessment of damage by the revenue department officials.

Chief secretary Atal Dulloo, on Tuesday, convened a high level meeting to review the measures initiated for relief and rehabilitation in the area affected by the recent land subsidence in Ramban district.

Frequent land subsidence in districts like Ramban and Doda in the fragile Himalayan region are being attributed to a multitude of factors, including blasting and cutting of hills for roads and tunnels, proliferation of hydroelectric projects and murree formation of soil akin to Joshimath where sewerage water seepage into the ground cause land sinking.