The villagers of Nai Basti in Thathri sub-division of Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district, where land subsidence has so far damaged 22 houses and displaced 300 people, feel that they are caught between the devil and the deep sea.
They have vehemently appealed the L-G’s administration to rehabilitate them.
A distraught looking Shazia Begum, 38, who lost her house to the cracks, sat with her children and belongings on the roadside and wept inconsolably .
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“I am reluctant to leave the village. Where would we go now? We are ruined. We worked as petty labourers and had constructed a house for our children. We appeal to the government to do something for us. I have a handicapped child. Where would we go now?” she said.
Mohammad Akram, around 40, informed that the cracks started developing in some six to seven houses around December last year.
“We took it lightly because in hilly areas moderate quakes and water cause minor cracks in the houses. We applied white cement to cover them but a week ago, these started widening and also spread to more houses. The land also started sinking,” he said.
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Akram informed that many families came from upper reaches of Doda to escape militants and settled in the area.
“We came here during 1990s due to militancy in the upper reaches of Doda. My father’s brother was killed by militants. We came here and constructed a small house but now everything is in ruins. I am a labourer, who earns ₹300 a day. I request the government to give us five-marla plot and compensation to construct our houses and rebuild our lives,” said Akram.
Owais, 22, a village youth, said that probably God was angry with them.
“We fear Joshimath-like crisis. We are praying day-and-night that land subsidence doesn’t spread further. Some among us are removing window panes and doors to salvage something from their houses because people are very poor here and wood is costly here in Doda,” he said.
It may be stated here that the administration has so far not announced any compensation to the affected families.
