Rendered homeless, 37 rain-hit Chamba families await rehab

Rajiv Mahajan

NURPUR, AUGUST 30

Extreme rainfall has devastated remote Naler village of Kakroti gram panchayat in Chowari subdivision of Chamba district, rendering all 37 families homeless.

Massive sinking of land

In the torrential rains that lashed Naler village in Chamba on August 18 and 19, three kucha houses collapsed whereas the remaining 34 pucca houses developed big cracks due to sudden massive sinking of land on August 19

In the torrential rains that lashed this hilly area on August 18 and 19, three houses of Ratan Chand, Om Prakash and Onkar Singh collapsed whereas the remaining 34 houses developed big cracks due to sudden massive sinking of land on August 19 morning. The families immediately left their houses with their belongings. Owing to torrential rain, the local gram panchayat shifted these families initially in the panchayat ghar and the school building. Later, a relief camp was set up in the village where a tent accommodation was arranged by the administration. A community kitchen has also been started for these families.

Though the administration has provided them the makeshift accommodation equipped with electricity, potable water and toilet facilities, these people have been spending sleepless nights for the past over a week. Homelessness and the issue of future rehabilitation have been haunting over 150 members of these families.

Vinod Jariyal, a member of the Kakroti gram panchayat and one of the disaster victims, said he had spent over Rs 12 lakh on the construction of his pucca house. However, as the land sunk in and big cracks developed on the roof and walls, his hard money went down the drain, he said. He said the affected villageres were very poor and worked as labourers.

Pritam, Kaka Ram, Babu Ram, Raj Mal, Swarna, Rajni, Subhash and Kewal Kumar said it was horrible to live in the makeshift accommodation with small children amid the inclement and humid weather.

Sunil Kaith, SDM, Chowari, said the Bhatiyat area had suffered extensive property loss due to rainfall in the last 12 days. “The administration has set up two relief camps at Ambedkar Bhawan in Chowari for 14 families of Trimath village and at Panchayat Bhavan in Chhalara for 12 families of Madhrala and Samluna villages,” he said.

The SDM said a proposal was being submitted to the state government for the rehabilitation and provision of land transfer for all displaced families.

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