The Srinagar administration has formed an expert panel with members from the local National Institute of Technology (NIT) and Kashmir University to investigate Monday’s land sinking incident in Rainawari, which left several houses damaged.
This is the third land sinking incident in Jammu and Kashmir this year, following subsidence events in Ramban and Udhampur.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDNA) is still investigating causes of the previous incidents.
Informing reporters about the investigations, the deputy commissioner of Srinagar, Dr Bilal Mohi-Ud-Din, said, "The team is working diligently and will soon submit their report, after which further action will be initiated.”
Steps would be taken to rehabilitate the affected families once the report was filed, Dr Mohi-Ud-Din, who is also the chairman of the Disaster Management Authority, added.
Six houses were damaged due to land sinking on Monday. Residents reported a gradual subsidence in the area and promptly informed officials, who visited the site and advised residents to vacate their homes and move to safer locations.
Some affected families, now living in rented accommodation, expressed concerns about having no place to stay. They have temporarily taken shelter with families living close by and urged the government to rehabilitate them.
“We don’t know how long it will take to rehabilitate us. We are homeless and cannot afford to build new houses,” some of them told reporters.
Most of them remain anxious about their future.
Residents noted that such incidents are unprecedented in their locality, though land sinking has become increasingly common across the Kashmir Valley in recent years.
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