At least 50 houses, four electricity towers, a receiving station, and a main road were damaged in Jammu and Kashmir Ramban district due to sinking of a road, officials said on Friday.
Deputy Commissioner Ramban, Baseer-Ul-Haq Chaudhary today visited village Parnote to assess damage to houses due to sinking of land there.
He interacted with the affected families and inquired about their needs. He assured them of every possible help from district administration.
The Deputy Commissioner directed the Tehsildar to process relief cases under SDRF and provide assistance to affected families for the damaged houses.
Houses started developing cracks and the road connectivity between Gool and Ramban snapped Thursday evening following the sudden ‘sinking of land’ in Pernote village, prompting several families to move to safer places.
The DC was informed that of 50 houses damaged in the affected area, 30 suffered damage and the affected families were shifted to safer places.
The displaced people were given tents, blankets, utensils and other essential items as instant relief.
The DC said restoration of essential services and road connectivity, besides ensuring immediate temporary provision of accommodation and ration to affected families is the priority of District Administration.
“This is a natural disaster and being the head of the district, I take full responsibility for providing food and shelter to the affected families,” Baseer said.
The authorities have summoned geology experts to know the cause behind the sinking of the land, while a team of district officials has been deployed round-the-clock to supervise the rehabilitation of the affected population and restoration of essential services.
“The land is still sinking and our effort is to restore essential services like the road and electricity as our first priority. We will provide tents and other items and also organise medical camps for the victims,” the DC said.
The deputy commissioner advised people not to panic and take precautionary measures to safeguard their lives.
Local volunteers joined SDRF and NDRF teams in helping the affected people to move their belongings from the damaged houses.
Meanwhile, the officials said an alternate road via Sumber-Digdoal has been made operational to connect Gool sub-division with the district headquarters.
In February last year also, at least 16 houses were damaged and road connectivity between Gool and Ramban was snapped due to sinking of land at Duksar Dalwa village in the Sangaldan area.