SRINAGAR: Kalaban village, close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s border district of Poonch, has experienced Joshimath-type subsidence after recent heavy rainfall and landslides since the first week of September. At least 76 houses, three schools, and two religious sites have been damaged, rendering approximately 500-700 people homeless.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited Kalaban on Wednesday to assess the destruction. He pledged full assistance to displaced families, approving an immediate aid of Rs 38 lakh in addition to the Rs 50 lakh already allocated under the SDRF.
As per State Disaster Response Force norms, Rs 1.35 lakh is given as relief to fully damaged houses due to natural calamities and Rs 50,000 for partially damaged houses and Rs 5,000 for utensils. Poonch, along with other districts in the Jammu region, experienced heavy and incessant rainfall, followed by landslides, this monsoon. For the first time, people noticed the ground beneath their village beginning to give way even as the rains lashed at their homes.
Tehsildar Mendhar Rahul Basotra told this newspaper that the land sinking in Kalaban in Mendhar started from September 7. After the land sank, the houses, schools, mosques, and roads in the village developed cracks, causing fear among the local residents.
Basotra said 76 houses, three schools, and two mosques in the village have been damaged. The roads have also developed long and deep cracks. The electricity supply to the village has also been disrupted.
According to the Tehsildar, 45 houses have fully collapsed, while many others have sustained partial to severe damage. “The affected families have moved to safer places. Most of them have shifted to their relatives’ places. The government has also set up relief centres at four places,” Basotra said.
A resident, Lal Hussain, whose house was destroyed by the subsidence, said the collapse was sudden. “It allowed families scant time to salvage their belongings and valuables from their homes. Many have been left with only the clothes they wear,” he said.
Hussain said villagers had invested their life savings in building homes, which are now damaged and unsafe.