Houses develop cracks, two Nalagarh villages vacated

Ghaneri and Baha villages in Nalagarh subdivision of Solan district have been vacated after cracks appeared in houses following land subsidence, rendering them unsafe. A village road sunk by several inches, leaving the houses located around it unsafe as gaping crevices were visible after continuous rainfall.

SDM, Nalagarh, Rajkumar visited Gujjarhatti village in Bah gram panchayat and took stock of the damage caused by rain. He directed the field staff to make arrangements for the stay of the affected villagers in safe buildings. He also inspected damaged roads and directed Public Works Department (PWD) officials to restore the affected roads at the earliest.

About 10 to 15 houses, besides the retaining wall of a primary school, were damaged. Incessant rain, which lashed the area during the past 48 hours, led to the development of cracks in houses that were widening, said Hira Lal Sharma, a villager. He added that “Around 10 to 15 houses have been affected in Bashra, Baha and Ghaneri villages in Nalagarh. Though cracks had developed in some of these houses earlier during the 2023 monsoon, they were repaired.”

The cracks reappeared after continuous rainfall in the area for the past few days, creating fear among local residents. He said that only some of the affected people had received compensation for the repair of their damaged houses in 2023.