Cases of land subsidence have been reported in Khamrauli village of Bamtad Khat in Kalsi tehsil of Dehradun district, which first came to limelight in Joshimath earlier this year. With the land unusually submerged, cracks are widening between the houses, posing a threat to the residents of the 25 buildings. These cracks are visible from the rooms to the yards in the village, which has 50 families.
Cracks are visible from the rooms to the yards in the village 50 families:
“During the 2013 disaster, some cracks were visible 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, a former leader of Khamrauli village, told the newspaper.
“Villagers told me that they fear that if no action is taken soon to solve the problem, the situation will resemble Joshimath,” he said. The house of one Gyan Singh Tomar is one of the buildings affected by the land subsidence. Similarly, the cracks in the houses of villagers Bhagat Singh and Rajendra Tomar also widened.
“Government Primary School, Khamroli, where new cracks have appeared 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 have received some complaints regarding cracks on which we have immediately acted and sent tehsil staff to inspect the spot but there is no need to panic”.
Joshimath redux
Joshimath, the gateway to Badrinath Dham, reported its first case of land subsidence in the first week of January this year.
Total of 868 buildings had cracks
In January, the state government formed a committee of eight institutes comprising experts and scientists to find out the causes of the disaster. While 278 families were accommodated in relief camps, 149 people were given compensation for their buildings
