DEHRADUN: Fresh cases of land subsidence, which first gained prominence in Joshimath early this year, have been reported in Khamrauli village of Bamtad Khat in Kalsi tehsil of Dehradun district. With the land unusually submerged, cracks between houses are widening, posing a threat to residents of 25 buildings.
These cracks are visible from rooms to courtyards in the village, which has a population of 50 families.
“During the 2013 disaster, some cracks were seen here, which have now widened. There is an atmosphere of panic among the people. There are many houses in the village which are on the verge of collapse,” Shamsher Singh Tomar, the former village head of Khamrauli, told this newspaper.
“The villagers have told me that they fear that if no measures are taken to solve the problem soon, the situation will resemble Joshimath,” he told said. The house of one Gyan Singh Tomar is one of the buildings affected by the sinking of the land. Similarly, the cracks in the houses of village residents Bhagat Singh and Rajendra Tomar have also widened.
“The government primary school Khamroli, where new cracks have come up and the old one has also been widened, is on the verge of collapse,” said Gyan Singh Tomar, adding, “My own house has also been damaged and more than 50 percent of the people here are affected”.
Kalsi sub-divisional magistrate Yukta Mishra said, “We had received some complaints regarding the cracks on which we have taken immediate action and sent tehsil staff to investigate the spot, but there is nothing to panic about”.
Joshimath redux