Sajid Raina
Poonch, Sep 13: Continuous rainfall has triggered landslides, land subsidence, and flash floods, forcing hundreds of families from their homes and leaving several areas in Poonch and Ramban districts of the Jammu division on edge.
The Kalaban village of Poonch district’s Mendhar sector has been declared unsafe after the soil beneath residential areas began shifting earlier this week.
Officials said that around 95 houses have developed cracks and nearly 700 residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters.
“Portions of the ground sank overnight, and the walls of our homes started splitting apart,” said Mohammad Yousuf, a farmer in Kalaban who was shifted with his family to a government school. “We left everything behind, not knowing if we could ever return.”
District officials said relocation was carried out as a precautionary measure, with relief supplies and medical teams deployed to the shelters. “Our priority is safety. We are providing food, bedding, and essential support to all affected families,” an officer from the Mendhar administration said.
Meanwhile, in Ramban district, grief has engulfed Gadhgaram village in Rajgarh Tehsil, where a cloudburst earlier this week claimed five lives.
Residents described the devastation as sudden and overwhelming. “It was pitch dark, and suddenly we heard water roaring down the slopes,” recalled Nasreen Begum, a local. “By morning, homes had been swept away, and the village looked like a riverbed.”
Authorities, including Ramban MLA Arjun Singh Raju and Deputy Commissioner Mussarat Islam, have been inspecting damaged houses and unstable land pockets.
Raju told reporters that around 20–25 houses have developed visible cracks, while land subsidence of nearly 1 to 1.5 feet has been reported. “We will ensure relocation to safer areas and compensation,” he said. (KNO)
