Houses Develop Cracks After Lahaul Spiti Land Sinks, Residents Demand Geological Survey

Deputy Commissioner of Lahaul and Spiti Rahul Kumar confirmed that cracks have developed in some houses in the villages adding that officials have visited the place.

Several houses in Lahaul Spiti have developed cracks/Representational Image

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Residents of Lindur village in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul and Spiti district have sought for a geological survey after nine of the 16 houses developed cracks due to land sinking to ascertain the reason behind the subsidence. Around residents of 70 villages have been forced to sleep in the open as they fear their houses may collapse, as per a PTI report. 

The fissures have also damaged the agricultural land, they said. 

"Cracks were noticed in the periphery of the village in June/July and have widened and spread, endangering houses. Nine out of 16 houses in the village have developed cracks and four of them have been declared unsafe," Sarita, Pradhan of Goharama Gram Panchayat told PTI.

“The seepage of water from the nearby Jahmala nullah which gets flooded every year could be responsible for the cracks but it can only be ascertained by a survey of the Geological Department. We have requested the authorities to get a geological survey of the area done,” she added.

Deputy Commissioner of Lahaul and Spiti Rahul Kumar confirmed that cracks have developed in some houses in the villages adding that officials have visited the place.

Villagers whose house have developed cracks have been given the option to shift to safe places but so far, no one has moved out, Kumar said. 

The DC said that the situation is under control though the villagers are nervous and the Tehsildar has been directed to provide immediate relief to the affected families, according to the report. 

We have urged the government to ensure canalisation of the Jahmala nullah to resolve the seepage problem affecting two to three panchayats, he said, adding, that a letter has been written to the Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi by the district administration to conduct a study and suggest a remedy. 

A similar case of subsidence scare rocked Joshimath in neighbouring Uttarakhand earlier this year after huge cracks had appeared in several houses, fields, and roads making the town unsafe to live in, and a large number of people had to be moved to safer places.