JAMMU: The spectre of a Joshimath-like crisis Friday gave J&K’s Doda district the sinking feeling after cracks appeared in a cluster of 20-odd buildings within Thathri tehsil, prompting the administration to evacuate the affected families and requisition experts from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to probe the cause of subsidence in the area.
Residents of Naya Basti said the first cracks were reported just over a month ago, but nobody apparently thought much of it until a landslide Thursday seemed to trigger subsidence across the rural cluster. The area hadn’t experienced anything like this before, although landslips there aren’t uncommon, they said.
The structures damaged so far include 18 residential buildings, a mosque and a madarsa. Besides those whose houses have become unsafe, scores of families have shifted either to a relief camp set up in a government school or moved in with relatives elsewhere.
“Cracks were first reported in a house late December. Yesterday, six buildings developed cracks and then a few more. These have started to widen and spread. This area is gradually sinking. The government is trying to find a solution as soon as possible,” news agency ANI quoted subdivisional magistrate Athar Amin Zargar as saying. DC Visheshpal Mahajan and SSP Abdul Qayoom led a team to the area and assured the affected families that they would be taken care of and the reason for the subsidence scientifically assessed.
(With inputs from agencies)
