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Uttarakhand village develops big cracks, 80 villagers shifted to safety
Locals said they panicked when they saw 20 to 50 metre long cracks in the ground. “Some of the houses have become dangerous to live in due to cracks. That’s why, we have shifted 80 villagers to a safer area,” said Abhay Pratap Singh, sub-divisional magistrate, Munsiyari
Over 80 people living in half-a-dozen houses in Sainrathi village in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, were shifted to safety on Friday after wide cracks appeared in the ground. Some of the houses also developed cracks on their walls.
“We have sent a revenue team to the village...We are also sending a team of geologists to study the phenomenon,” said Phincha Ram Chauhan, additional district magistrate Pithoragarh.
Locals said they panicked when they saw 20 to 50 metre long cracks in the ground. “Some of the houses have become dangerous to live in due to cracks. That’s why, we have shifted 80 villagers to a safer area,” said Abhay Pratap Singh, sub-divisional magistrate, Munsiyari.
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.”We have never witnessed such a phenomenon in our lives,” said Bhagat Singh Bachami, a local.
District geological officer Pradeep Kumar said the cracks have surfaced due to shifting of the land towards the river flowing nearby. “I have seen the photographs and video of the cracks. These are due to gradual sliding of land towards the river flowing near the village,” he said.
The villagers are scared as this comes within a week of five people dying in a landslide triggered by a cloud burst.
Meanwhile, the national highway between Tanakpur and Pithoragarh opened after 12 days. The closure of this road link resulted in heavy losses to traders of Champawat and Pithoragarh areas as the supply of goods was halted.
“The highway could not be opened due to landslides and boulder fall at Swala village near Champawat,” said LD Mathela, executive engineer National Highway Authority of India in Pithoragarh.
According to trader organisations, at least 10,000 traders were affected by this closure.
