13 Ramban families evacuated as landslide hits several houses

Ramban/Jammu, February 19

Over a dozen residential houses were damaged in a massive landslide in Duksar Dal village in Gool sub-division, 45 km from Ramban district headquarters, rendering 13 families homeless, officials said on Sunday.

The affected families were shifted to safe locations and provided immediate relief, while the main road passing near the village was closed for vehicular traffic after developing cracks, they said. The incident comes barely a fortnight after 19 residential houses, a mosque and a religious school for girls developed cracks due to land sinking at Nai Basti village of Doda district.

“The affected families were shifted and provided tents, ration, utensils and blankets as an immediate relief,” Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Gool) Tanveer-ul-Majeed Wani said.

“We are monitoring the situation and have placed restrictions for the time being on the movement of people in the area as the land is still sinking. The experts from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) are visiting the place within the next couple of days to inspect the scene and look for the reasons for the sudden landslide,” the officer said.

He said the affected families would be provided compensation from the State Disaster Management Fund as per the laid down norms within the shortest possible time. The SDM said the main road connecting Gool and Sangaldan had been closed after it also developed cracks and the Border Roads Organisation was requested to make the alternate road motorable to facilitate movement of people and defence vehicles.

Raqeeb Wani, the local sarpanch, said “The people are in a panic as we have never witnessed such a thing in the past. Agricultural and horticulture land was also hit by the landslide and the affected farmers should be given adequate compensation.”

Meanwhile, a three-member team from the National Institute of Disaster Management, headed by Prof Surya Prakash, visited Nai Basti village of Thathri in Doda for a survey, officials said. Earlier, several other teams, including experts from the GSI, also inspected the affected village to ascertain the reason behind the cracks. — PTI

Officials inspect Nai Basti in Doda

A three-member team from the National Institute of Disaster Management inspected Nai Basti village in Doda district that witnessed cracks in several houses and other structures a fortnight ago.

GSI experts to take stock of situation

SDM Tanveer-ul-Majeed Wani says the affected families of Duksar Dal village in Ramban have been shifted and provided tents, ration, utensils and blankets. Experts from Geological Survey of India will visit the site soon for inspection, he adds.

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