Mugnial’s nightmare returns

The residents of Mugnial, a remote village in Minjgran gram panchayat of Nurpur, are once again battling a nightmare as fresh incidents of land subsidence and landslides struck the area on Wednesday following days of incessant rainfall.

Six houses and six cow sheds have been damaged in the disaster, leaving six rural families homeless. Large cracks have appeared in several houses, rendering them unsafe for habitation, while sudden landslides around residential structures have further endangered the settlement.

This is not the first time the villagers have faced such devastation. In August 2023, six families in Mugnial were similarly displaced after massive cracks appeared in the walls, roofs and corridors of both pucca and kutcha houses. Since then, the looming threat of recurring landslides and land subsidence has forced villagers, mostly belonging to the Scheduled Tribe (Gaddi) community, to spend sleepless nights every monsoon.

This year too, six more houses and cowsheds have been severely damaged. On receiving news of the disaster, local residents, along with panchayat pradhan and other elected members, rushed to the spot and shifted the affected families to safer places. For now, displaced households are being accommodated in the panchayat office and the anganwadi centre, while some have taken shelter with relatives in Minjgran. Suman Sharma, chairperson of Minjgran panchayat, said she had immediately informed the Nurpur administration about the crisis. “The maximum inhabited area in Mugnial has turned into a landslide-prone zone due to the fragile strata of the hill adjoining the houses. If timely corrective measures are not taken by the government, the entire village may face the same disaster in the future,” she warned.

Nurpur Tehsildar Radhika Saini, after inspecting the site, confirmed that the houses of six individuals — Chain Singh, Lekh Raj, Maya Devi, Raj Kumar, Sajeevan and Burfi Ram — have been declared unsafe and unfit for habitation. Nurpur SDM Arun Sharma said immediate relief in the form of plastic tent sheets had been provided to the affected families. He further advised them to submit online applications through Lok Mitra Kendras, along with documents of their damaged houses, to avail relief under the revised state government relief manual.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that three more houses in Hadal panchayat of Nurpur have also been damaged due to landslides, with families shifted to safer locations.