Last Update: February 22, 2023, 23:34 IST
Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal), India
Cracks are seen in a building in Joshimath area of Chamoli district, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (PTI photo)
On October 21 last year, a landslide occurred around the same spot where cracks opened and huge boulders fell on houses, killing four people.
Like the landslide-hit Joshimath, the villagers of Paangadh village in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand have been forced to leave their homes due to landslides and cracks appearing in their houses.
The helpless villagers are taking shelter in relief camps, tin sheds and even schools.
More than 40 families of the village, located on the banks of the Pindar river near Tharali on the Karnprayag-Almora national highway, have been rendered homeless and are living like refugees. More than 90 families have been living in the village for generations. The problem of landslides in the village started with the Kedarnath disaster in 2013, but matters worsened in October 2021 when cracks appeared in the fields above the village. “Initially the cracks were small and in a year they widened into holes,” said Gopal Dutt, a villager.
On October 21 last year, a landslide occurred around the same spot where cracks opened and huge boulders fell on houses, killing four people.
He said that the debris of this landslide has affected almost half of the village and people who lived in this area had to leave their homes and take shelter elsewhere.
Some of the affected families have taken shelter in the homes of relatives, while others have shifted to a school building in the village. The only government primary school in the village has been turned into a relief camp, forcing the authorities to hold classes at the junior high school building, about a kilometer away. Children in the age group of 5-11 years have to go to their school on foot and have to cross a stream on the way.
“There is no proposal as of now to resume classes in the primary school building. Nothing can be said with certainty about it only when the district administration formulates a rehabilitation policy for the village.” Education Tharali Block Officer Adarsh Kumar told PTI.
Meanwhile, Chamoli District Disaster Management Officer NK Joshi said that a tin shed is being built at a safe place, where the affected people of the village will be shifted. However, Surendra Lal, a villager, alleged that the shed is being built near a pine forest, where there is no water or electricity supply. Lal said that no one can walk to the spot which can pose a threat to life during summers, when pine leaves easily catch fire.
Dutt said the government was requested to provide readymade or prefabricated houses to the affected, but there has been no progress. Five thousand rupees were given to the affected families as disaster relief by the government four months back. “Geological scientists also surveyed the village after the landslide, but no one knows what came out of it,” said Surendra Lal. Jagmohan Singh Gadia, retired from the army and living in the landslide-affected area, said, “I now regret my pledge not to flee my village”.
District Disaster Management Officer Joshi said that the owners of the damaged houses have been given compensation as per rules. He said that rehabilitation will be done as per the resettlement policy and safe places are being identified.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)