After Joshimath town, it is now the turn of the nearby villages to bear the brunt of the subsiding land leading to the destruction of houses and forcing eviction of people from their ancestral places.

Local administration is awaiting the state government’s nod for the relocation plan for the affected villagers.

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Heavy rains in the higher hills of Uttarakhand have resulted in constant landslides, rock felling, and water gushing beneath the houses in Pagno village of Joshimath Block in the district Chamoli. More than 60 families from this hill village have left for alternate locations identified either by themselves or by the local administration for their homes were rendered inhospitable.

These houses have started sinking as the land beneath is slowly getting loosened due to seepage of water coming from higher hills.

According to the locals, Pagno Village land is subsiding akin to what is happening in Joshimath town but local administration has still turned a blind eye towards its plight.

“Constant seepage of water beneath the houses left the walls, roofs, floors, and other parts of the buildings broken and unfit to live in. Pagno village of around 170 families is now hardly left with 100 families. Thankfully, there has been no casualty so far but we are still awaiting administration to come forward for our safety,” said Basanti, an elderly villager.

The villagers further said that the landslide that began last year due to heavy rains is constantly haunting the villagers of Pagno. “We have been living in fear for the past year. Heavy rains this year and reoccurring showers thereafter have added to our misery. Our houses are shaken and sinking. We don’t know where to go and what to do,” said SS Rawat, a villager.

If forced to abandon their homes, they don’t know how they would make a living. The majority of the villages depend on vegetables and coarse grains grown on their small farmland holdings.

However, local administration informed them that the affected villagers have been provided contingency amounts to meet their immediate needs. In the light of the disaster, a fixed contingency fund was provided to the villagers. A proposal for relocation of the villagers has also been sent to the government. A nod is awaited from the state government to implement the relocation plan of the village,” said SDM Joshimath Chandra Shekhar Vashist.