JAMMU: Panic gripped a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Monday after subsidence caused large cracks in agricultural fields, roads, and residential buildings, prompting district administration to shift the occupants of two severely damaged houses to safer places.Four other houses that have developed cracks have been kept under close observation, and their occupants will be evacuated if needed, an official said.“Besides undertaking relief and precautionary measures in Kotli Kalaban village of Manjakote tehsil, Geological Survey of India has been called to assess the situation,” an official said.Deputy commissioner Abhishek Sharma, SSP Gaurav Sikarwar, and MLA Muzaffar Iqbal Khan visited the affected areas and assured the villagers of all possible help.This is not the first subsidence in the region. Several cases of subsidence have been reported in recent years from Doda, Ramban, Reasi, Poonch, and Rajouri districts, often linked to road construction and other infrastructure projects.On Sept 9 last year, about 50 structures, mostly residential buildings, were damaged due to sinking of land in a village on the slope of a hill in Poonch district.On April 26, 2024, a massive chunk of land sank in Ramban’s Parnote village, destroying 58 houses in just three days, and forcing around 500 residents to move out.Doda and Ramban districts experienced similar subsidence in 2023 and 2024, prompting authorities to form expert committees to investigate the causes and recommend remedial measures.On Feb 4, 2023, authorities had to evacuate 20 families from Nayi Basti area in Doda’s Thathri municipality after subsidence damaged several houses.
