Land subsidence in JK's Doda: Victims face dark future as GSI recommends no habitation in affected area

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, March 23

 Locals in Nai Basti area of Thathri in Doda district of JK, who fled after their homes developed cracks in the first week of February, have demanded land for construction of houses from the government as a report by Geological Survey of India (GSI) has recommended that the affected area is not habitable anymore.

The GSI report submitted with the JK government states that the people should not be allowed to live in the affected area. The report has suggested a slew of measures to stop further damage in the mountainous region.

The report recommends “As an immediate precautionary measure, it is advised not to allow people to dwell in the houses which are in close proximity to the slide scars or where the ground cracks are lying immediately on the back slope or front slope of any house/houses”.

According to the report, the affected area received 27.8 mm of rainfall on 31 January, the day before the incident. There was 201.2 mm rainfall from 20 January to 31 January which might have saturated the slope forming material to a significant extent, the report, a copy of which is with The Tribune claims.

“Prima-facie, saturation of the slope forming material due to rainfall (on 30 and 31 January) and poor drainage arrangements in the affected slope might have triggered the recent slope failure” the report suggests.

Meanwhile the victims are still waiting for compensation as their files have already been forwarded to claim State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). Even if they get compensation, it will not be more than Rs 1.30 lakh.

“The SDRF claim will be around Rs 1.30 lakh for each affected family. The compensation for big and small houses will be the same under the claim” said an official on condition of anonymity.

Around 20 families of 119 people were left homeless after the incident. The affected are government employees, ex-servicemen and poor labourers who are now left with no place to go.

While most of the families are living on rent in different areas of Thathri Tehsil where Nai Basti is also located, some have shifted with their relatives for the time being. The rent for poor families was arranged by NGOs and religious organizations.

Abdul Farooq, who is a driver of a school bus whose home was also damaged, said that the victims have demanded allotment of land from the administration.

“We were earlier shifted to a local government school which was declared as a temporary relief camp” he said. “As the time passes, we are anxious to know whether the government will provide us a new place to live?” questioned Farooq.

Farooq has five members in his family including three children who study in the private school where he is a driver. He had constructed his own home in 2009 in Nai Basti. Now he is living on rent.

The GSI report also talks about the changes in the area over the time. “Temporal study of the Nai Basti area has been carried out through the study of Google Earth time-series images. The Google Earth image of the years 2003, 2005, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2022 have been studied to assess the changes in the area over a period of nearly two decades, and it is clearly seen that in the years of 2014 and 2016, there were small slope failures above the National Highway-244 (adjoining Nai Basti). It also shows the increasing urban settlement on the slopes over the period of two decades between 2003 and 2022”.

Most of the locals in Nai Basti had shifted from upper areas due to fear of terrorism. The district was one of the most terror infested areas in the erstwhile state during late 90s and later.

Farooq said, “We have met the Deputy Commissioner and other officials to press for the demand of compensation and land for constructing new homes but to no avail”.

Abdul Majid Butt, president of Jamia Masjid Committee, Thathri informed that Rs 60,000 were arranged for the rent purpose of 12 families who had no source of income or were extremely poor. “While some families arranged for their rented accommodations, we asked locals to donate generously so that rent for poor families could be arranged for at least two months” said Butt.

“It is advised to fix tell-tales in the houses which are close to the most affected zone, so as to monitor the development of ground distress, if any, in the adjoining area” the GSI report reads.

The report has further recommended taking immediate measures for diverting the surface runoff away from the affected/active part of the slope.

“Retaining structure, at the toe of the slope at road level in consultation with the design engineer needs to be provided with proper weep holes and drainage holes” experts have recommended.

Providing the gabion structure at the river level is suggested to avoid the erosion of the left bank. It will ensure long-term safety of the NH-244, it added.