Three families, totaling ten members, underwent evacuation on Monday due to alarming land subsidence and visible cracks within residential structures in a village located in Ramban district, Jammu and Kashmir.
Officials report that the land subsidence occurred at Kulthi Chakka Kundi in Tehsil Rajgarh, near the Chenab River, raising significant concerns among local villagers. This incident unfolded amidst recent heavy rains, which have strained various areas within the district.
In response to the crisis, administrative and rescue teams mobilized quickly to the affected site, relocating families to safer accommodations. Tehsildar Rajgarh Major Singh confirmed that a non-residential structure belonging to local resident Bhagat Ram succumbed to the subsidence, while the homes of Chaat Ram, Chaman Lal, and Bhushan Lal developed dangerous cracks over the previous few days.
Major Singh personally visited the site alongside a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team to oversee the evacuation efforts and ensure the affected families received tents for temporary shelter. Officials including the Naib Tehsildar maintain a presence in the village to monitor developments closely.
However, villagers have reported additional damage to several other residences, including properties belonging to Dev Raj, Hari Ram, Santosh Singh, Fallal Singh, and Shashram. BJP Ramban district president Neelam Kumar Lange voiced his concerns following a visit to the stricken area, demanding immediate compensation and rehabilitation measures for impacted families.
Lange highlighted the absence of ministers or local MLAs from the National Conference-led government at the site, criticizing their lack of engagement in assessing the precarious situation that residents face.
Local inhabitants suspect that recent water releases from the Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project, coinciding with the torrential rains, might have exacerbated ground instability. Nonetheless, officials emphasize that they have yet to ascertain the definitive causes behind the land subsidence and structural damages.
In a related incident, SDRF successfully rescued a non-local worker swept away by the strong currents of the Chenab River near Pul Doda on Monday morning. The individual, who served as an operator for a sand-extraction boat, worked for a private contractor engaged in sand extraction activities in the region. Efforts are currently underway to recover the lost machinery from the river.
