Pithoragarh village sliding down: Experts
PITHORAGARH: Dar, a village of Darma valley in Pithoragarh district, is gradually sliding down, endangering lives of people living in the area, geologists have warned.
Pradeep Kumar, district geologist and leader of a team of geologists, who have surveyed the village, said 35 families living in the village need immediate shifting to a safer area as all houses are also sliding with the hillside and it was dangerous to keeping living in the houses in the area.
Kumar said the cause hillside village sliding was the widening work on the road stretch from Sobla to Tidang and underground water sources that are seeping into the landmass beneath the village, weakening the same and resulting in its slow sliding
“The village is already situated at an old landslide area and has fragile terrain, with weak soil, having no hard rocks beneath,” said Kumar.
Savita Devi, gram pradhan of Dar village, had written to the administration, complaining that some houses in the village were sliding from their positions and many houses had been damaged and developed big cracks.
“On my complaint, the district administration sent a team of geologists to our village. We want families in our area be immediately shifted to safe places as calamity might strike this area at any time,” said Savita Devi.
AK Shukla, sub-divisional magistrate Dharchula, said on receiving the complaint of houses sliding in the area, he immediately sent a team of geologists, led by chief district geologist Kumar. “We will take further action in the matter after we receive the survey report of the team of geologists,” said Shukla.
Kumar said the landmass of the village was continuously sliding as it was located on the debris of landslides in surrounding hills nearly 200 years ago.
“Scores of villages in Dharchula and Munsiyari areas of the district are situated on the debris of hundreds of years old landslides and are thus susceptible to further landslides and caving,” said Kumar.