Hundreds of people, including children and the elderly, have been left homeless after the ground beneath the hilly Kalaban village in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir started sinking last week following torrential rains.
According to officials, at least 72 residential houses, three schools, two mosques, four graveyards and several animal shelters scattered on the foothills of Pir Panchal mountains have been damaged due to ongoing land subsidence. Kalaban is home to 3,808 residents as per the 2011 Census.
After the land subsidence in Kheri village, allegedly due to the construction of two tunnels for the Jammu ring road project, this is the second incident where large-scale damage has been reported in a residential area in the aftermath of the torrential rains last month that wreaked havoc across the Union Territory.
“The land is sinking non-stop, causing the tributary to change course and discharge its flow underground with no outlet,” said Abdul Hamid, a resident of Kalaban, “If immediate steps are not taken and machines are not brought to divert the flow of water, the entire village will disappear.”
by Jehangir Ali
16/09/2025