Cracks in houses at J&K's Doda hint at Joshimath-like crisis, people run for safety

Local sources told ETV Bharat that the first cracks appeared in a residential house in Thathri a few days ago, with scores of houses affected by Friday.

Doda(J&K): In an eerie resemblance to Joshimath land subsidence in Uttarakhand, cracks have appeared in residential houses in Thathri area of Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir causing panic among the residents, sources said on Friday. The affected families are being shifted to safer places. Local sources told ETV Bharat that the first cracks appeared in a residential house in Nayi Basti area in Thathri municipality of Doda District four days ago.

Sinking of land in the area is being suspected to be the reason for the cracks. As of Friday, around 50 houses had developed cracks with raisin concerns among the residents there for their life and livelihood. Local sources said that the many residents have shifted to safer places as a safety measure. While the actual reason for the land subsidence has not been established yet, the locals are blaming it on the excavation work that also led to landslides in the nearby area.

The local administration has however ruled out the possibility claiming that the excavation by the bulldozer was too small to cause landslides so as to develop cracks in the houses. The affected families have demanded that they be shifted to safer places. They also urged the district administration to provide them appropriate compensation for the damaged houses.

The affected families said that the district administration had not reached out to them yet. They clamed to have been forced to shift to their relatives on their own for safety. Talking on the matter, local SDM, Athar Amin Zargar, said that the administration SDM Thathri Athar Amin Zargar said that the affected families are being shifted to camps and tents and added that a team of experts also examine the area and declared it unsafe.

Zargar said that the phenomena being observed in the area is beyond repair and hence the whole village is being shifted for which Deputy Commissioner Doda has already issued necessary directions. An official in the district administration said that senior officials from the government including Divisional Commissioner Doda and Kashmir are likely to visit the area today to take stock of the situation.

The district administration Doda is also roping in geological experts from Jammu to examine the spot to ascertain the cause of the landslides and suggest mitigation measures, an official said. The landslides in Doda comes weeks after cracks in scores of houses in Joshimath in Uttarakhand.