Three families comprising ten members were evacuated as a precautionary measure due to land subsidence and cracks in residential houses reported in Kulthi Chakka Kundi village, Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Monday.
The land subsidence, which occurred along the banks of the Chenab River, triggered panic among local villagers already on edge following recent heavy rainfall that affected various regions in the district.
Administrative, revenue, and rescue teams promptly rushed to the affected area to assist the residents and relocate them to safer locations.
Tehsildar Rajgarh Major Singh reported that a non-residential structure owned by Bhagat Ram was washed away, while residential houses of Chaat Ram, Chaman Lal, and Bhushan Lal developed serious cracks due to the gradual land subsidence noticed over the past few days.
Singh, accompanied by a team from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), assessed the damage and oversaw the evacuation of the affected families. Authorities provided tents to ensure their temporary accommodation.
Local officials, including the Naib Tehsildar, remain stationed in the village, closely monitoring the developing situation.
However, villagers reported additional cracks and damage in other residences owned by Dev Raj, Hari Ram, Santosh Singh, Fallal Singh, and Shashram, raising concerns about the overall safety of the constructed infrastructure.
BJP Ramban district president Neelam Kumar Lange visited the affected area, demanding compensation and rehabilitation for the impacted families. Lange criticized the absence of any minister or MLA from the National Conference-led government at the site, suggesting a lack of governmental attention to the plight of the affected families.
Locals expressed apprehensions that recent water releases from the Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project, following heavy rains, may have contributed to ground instability. However, officials noted that the precise cause of the land subsidence and associated damage remains unclear.
In a related incident, the SDRF successfully rescued a man and a sand-extraction boat swept away by strong currents in the Chenab River near Pul Doda in Doda district on Monday morning. The rescued individual, a non-local worker who operated the sand-extraction machine, was employed by a private company contracted for sand extraction in the region.
Efforts are currently underway to retrieve the machinery from the river. Local authorities continue monitoring the situation closely, ensuring that the safety of residents remains a priority amidst these alarming occurrences.
