J&K: 3 Families Evacuated After Land Subsidence, Cracks In Houses In Ramban

RAMBAN/JAMMU, Aug 24: Three families comprising 10 members were evacuated to safer locations after land subsidence and cracks in residential houses were reported in Kulthi Chakka Kundi village of Rajgarh tehsil in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district, officials said on Monday.

The incident, reported along the banks of the Chenab River, triggered panic among residents, particularly amid recent heavy rains in the district. Administrative, revenue and rescue teams rushed to the affected area and shifted the families as a precautionary measure.

Tehsildar Rajgarh Major Singh said a non-residential structure belonging to Bhagat Ram was washed away, while cracks developed in the houses of Chaat Ram, Chaman Lal and Bhushan Lal following land subsidence over the past few days.

Singh visited the affected area along with a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team and supervised the evacuation. The affected families were provided tents for temporary accommodation, while the Naib Tehsildar and other officials remained stationed in the village to monitor the situation.

Locals claimed that several other houses, including those belonging to Dev Raj, Hari Ram, Santosh Singh, Fallal Singh and Shashram, had also suffered cracks and damage.

BJP Ramban district president Neelam Kumar Lange visited the affected area and sought compensation and rehabilitation for the affected families. He also criticised the absence of ministers or legislators from the National Conference-led government at the site.

Residents expressed apprehension that recent water releases from the Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project following heavy rains may have contributed to the ground instability. However, officials said the exact cause of the land subsidence and structural damage had not yet been established.

Meanwhile, an SDRF team rescued a person who, along with a sand-extraction boat, was swept away by strong currents in the Chenab River near Pul Doda in neighbouring Doda district. The rescued man, a non-local worker operating the sand-extraction machinery, was employed by a private company contracted for sand extraction. Efforts were underway to retrieve the machinery from the river. (Agencies)