Lahaul and Spiti village land sinks, 9 of 14 houses develop cracks

Dipender Manta

Mandi, October 22

Land has been sinking at Lindur village of Goharama panchayat in Lahaul and Spiti tribal district for the past few months. As a result, around nine houses have developed cracks in the village.

In July and August, agricultural land in the village had developed huge cracks, damaging the crops. The villagers had informed the district administration about it and demanded a survey by the Geological Department to find out the reason behind the sinking of land. Despite repeated requests of villagers, no survey so far has been conducted. Recently, villagers noticed cracks in their houses. So they approached the district administration and reiterated their demand for a survey by the Geological Department to ascertain if the village is safe for living.

No survey yet

• In July-August, agricultural land had developed huge cracks, damaging crops
• Despite repeated requests by villagers, no survey has been conducted by experts so far

Sarita, pradhan, Goharama gram panchayat, said, “The residents of Lindur village have been spending sleepless nights for the past few days after their houses developed cracks. The entire village, where there are 14 houses, is under threat. We requested the district administration and Lahaul and Spiti MLA Ravi Thakur to get a survey done by geological experts. But so far, no survey has been conducted.” Rahul Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Lahaul and Spiti, said, “Four houses have been declared unsafe in the village. A few other houses have also developed cracks. The administration has requested experts of Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi, to conduct a detailed survey of the area. Soon, a team from IIT Mandi will visit the village.” Lahaul and Spiti MLA Ravi Thakur said, “The situation is bad in the village because of sinking of land. I urge CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to look into the matter.”