Arresting slide: To tackle subsidence problem, Mandi administration awaits survey report

Dipender Manta

Mandi, October 28

The district administration is awaiting a geological survey report on land subsidence in Mandi during the monsoon this year to provide a long-term solution to the problem. Several houses were damaged due to subsidence at various places in the district.

To find out a long-term solution, the district administration had got a geological survey conducted last month. A team of the Geological Department collected samples of soil from different places in Mandi and sent these for examination to a laboratory at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Hamirpur.

In August this year, subsidence was witnessed in Sanyard, Tarna and Mangvain villages and a few other parts of the district. As a result, several houses developed cracks, leading to panic among people. The district administration got these houses vacated and accommodated the affected families in temporary shelters.

As a precautionary measure, the district administration has restricted construction in the affected places. It is awaiting the final report of geological survey and the suggestions of experts therein to provide a long-term solution to the problem of subsidence.

In the Sanyard ward, a private telecommunication company had dug up the space along a road to lay underground cable before the onset of the monsoon. After laying the cable, the dug up space was covered with soil, which observed rainwater. It was also considered a reason for the incidents of subsidence in the area. To check the problem, the Public Works Department (PWD), after the rainy season, metalled the road in the Sanyard area.

Affected people like Durga Das, Vicky, Vijay Kumar and Kishan Chand said, “We are waiting for the suggestions of the district administration whether the current place is safe for new construction or not, as our houses have developed cracks.”

Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary said, “The district administration has restricted construction in the affected places. Experts of the Geological Department had conducted a survey in Mandi and sent samples of soil collected from different places for examination to a lab in the NIT-Hamirpur. The sample report is awaited. The experts of the Geological Department will give their suggestions on the basis of the report to provide a long-term solution to the problem of subsidence.”

He said the district administration was also planning to rope in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mandi, to provide a long-term solution to the subsidence problem in the affected places.