Land subsidence cases on the rise in Baddi, Ramshehar belt

With the rise in number of land subsidence cases in Baddi and Ramshehar belt since 2023, the need to undertake geotechnical investigations is being urgently felt.

In the latest incident, eight houses got completely damaged at Jamun Da Dohra village in Doon Assembly segment. “A major part of the village has turned into a sinking zone where arable land as well as the residential blocks have been damaged. The villagers have been shifted to an adjoining temple and a public health centre while some have taken refuge in their relatives’ houses,” said Baddi Tehsildar Satinderjit Singh.

A similar tragedy had stuck at an adjoining Sheel Sunani village in August 2023 following torrential rains. It had caused significant destruction in the area as 70 houses had been damaged and 1.35 km of land had been denuded.

This village has now been brought under the Centrally-sponsored Adarsh Resilient Village Programme to rehabilitate the disaster-stricken communities and to rebuild their infrastructure.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which conducted a study in the area, found that the region experienced record rainfall of 325 mm in July and 308 mm in August. Geotechnical investigations confirmed that the friable rocks in the area contributed to the extensive damage.

A detailed risk assessment and evaluation of the net safe bearing capacity of the soil was undertaken and protection measures like rockfall protection techniques, including retaining walls for uphill slopes and flexible surface drainage systems, to enhance structural resilience have been incorporated in the design.

The situation was equally worrisome in the Ramshehar area where 60 villagers have been rendered homeless at Katli village after mounds of boulders and debris flowed down from the hill above denudating the village. The peril of 29 families of Baha panchayat in Ramshehar is no different as they too have shifted to safer places after cracks appeared in their houses.

Since no environmentally detrimental activity like excavation of the hill was undertaken in these areas, the sudden land subsidence has left the authorities surprised. The manner in which arable land was eroding had left the agrarian community with little means to eke out a livelihood and they were now dependent on government assistance to revive themselves.