Dalwas landslide | Affected families demand release of compensation, rehabilitation

Ramban, Nov 6: Around 40 families from the Dalwass area of Ramban who were rendered homeless due to a landslide and sinking of 300 Kanlas of agricultural land in March 2020 are running from pillar to post to get compensation and proper rehabilitation at safer places.

They were demanding suitable compensation for their damaged residential houses. The houses had collapsed due to road widening activity of a four-lane project at Dalwass, near Nashri in the Ramban district on the Udhampur- Ramban section, following heavy rains on March 28, 2020.

Residents blamed that their residential houses had collapsed due to ill-planned excavation work carried out by the construction company Gammon India and its subcontractors engaged by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in the Dalwass area of Batote tehsil in the Ramban district for converting two-lane old alignment of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway into four lane.

Thirty seven houses collapsed on March 28, 2020 at the same place due to the sinking of around 400 kanlas of agricultural land.

The district administration acted swiftly, shifting landslide-affected families to safer places and accommodating them in Government High School buildings, Panchayat Ghar and some privately rented accommodations by the district administration.

Landslide-affected families said that at that time administration and management of the Construction Company and NHAI assured them of providing compensation.

They said after staging several protests revenue officials had prepared files of landslide victims and a compensation of Rs one lakh was provided to them last year by the administration which they spent on paying rent.

Some landslide victims have erected temporary sheds and live there.

A landslide victim Om Singh said after working his whole life he was able to build a Pucca house at the age of 70 years but due to unplanned earth cutting of hillocks, and slopes alongside the road carried out by the construction companies of NHAI, they lost their houses, agriculture land and everything.

He said unplanned earth-cutting is still going on. Earlier it was carried out by contractor company Gammon India but now it is being carried out by another company DMR, engaged by NHAI.

Another septuagenarian landslide victim woman said my husband had built a house that got damaged. She said a temporary shed was built but the threat of landslides on rainy days persists. A woman said that all the landslide victim families are facing tremendous difficulties.

She said that for the last three years, they have been making rounds of government offices to get compensation for damaged houses and agricultural land, but we are getting only assurances from the officers.

They have demanded that the government provide compensation and rehabilitation without any delay.

A revenue department officer said files for providing compensation to landslide victims are being prepared.

They have appealed to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to intervene in the matter so that they get compensation for our damaged houses and agricultural land.