From homes to shelters: Nalagarh village sinks, 29 families homeless

Heavy rains have once again turned into a nightmare for the hill villages of Himachal Pradesh. In Nalagarh’s Baha panchayat, as many as 29 families are staring at displacement after sudden land subsidence tore through their homes and fields.

The first warning signs came when long cracks appeared on the walls and floors of several houses. Within hours, walls caved in and foundations gave way, rendering the homes unsafe. Villagers rushed to drape tarpaulin sheets over the fissures in a desperate attempt to hold back the damage. But the earth beneath was giving way — massive sinking left gaping crevices across the village. The road leading to the settlement itself dipped several inches, confirming the scale of the disaster.

Two homes, belonging to Chaman Lal and Meghraj, could not withstand the pressure. Large cracks snaked across their structures before both finally crumbled. Fortunately, no lives were lost as the entire village was evacuated in time. “The whole settlement was vacated last night. People sought shelter in a house owned by Ram Swarup and a small dhaba run by Ramesh,” said Hira Lal Sharma of nearby Ghaneri village.

But survival has come at a cost. Families now huddle together in makeshift shelters, food being arranged by revenue staff. With around 125 residents, including elderly villagers and young children, suddenly homeless, anxiety over the future is palpable. “We need alternative land to live on. Even the adjoining areas are unsafe as the rains continue to erode the ground,” villagers said, adding that earlier repairs had failed to withstand recurring subsidence. Authorities have already declared the area a red zone, unfit for habitation.

The calamity has spared neither schools nor livelihoods. A primary school at Gujjarhatti, which had its retention wall collapse, was shifted hurriedly to a panchayat building. Around 40 children and three teachers now try to continue their classes in cramped quarters.

The displaced include families of Somnath, Balak Ram, Prakash Chand, Rakesh Kumar, Ram Swarup, Sarvan, Arjun, Gurpal, Rajpal, Ramkumar, Gorkhu Ram, Draupadi, Baldev, Asha Ram, Geeta Ram, Pritam Chand, Ram Lal, Babli, Joginder, Shyam Lal, Ramlok, Ruplal, Babu Ram, Ranjeet, Om Prakash and Duni Chand — many with five to seven members each, now cramped into temporary shelters.

This is not the first such tragedy. Earlier this month, Katli village in Ramshehar faced a similar fate when muck and boulders rolled down the slopes, forcing 60 villagers out of their homes. In recent years, Sunani and Sheel villages, too, have been ravaged by monsoon-triggered land slips.

For the residents of Baha panchayat, the ground has literally slipped from under their feet, leaving behind cracked homes, broken memories and an uncertain tomorrow.