Following fresh incidents of land sinking in Pernote village in Ramban, authorities ordered the closure of Ramban-Gool road Wednesday, which locals said had severely impacted connectivity to many hamlets.
Deputy Commissioner of Ramban, Baseer-Ul-Haq Choudhary, stated that the Ramban-Gool road was initially opened for about a month to monitor land behaviour and maintain connectivity.
"From yesterday, the land started subsiding again, prompting the closure of the Ramban-Gool road. However, the alternate Digdol-Sumbal-Sangaldan-Gool road remains open as do railway lines, “so connectivity is not an issue," Choudhary told reporters.
He added that no one had been affected by the recent land sinking as the administration had already relocated residents from the affected areas to safer locations.
The Ramban-Gool road was previously closed due to land subsidence on April 25 this year but was temporarily reopened for light passenger vehicles on May 28 by the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF).
Earlier this year Ramban experienced significant land subsidence in Pernote village, resulting in damage to 58 housing units and affecting 100 households.
In addition, four transmission towers and a power receiving station were also damaged. A 24x7 control room, health camp, and community kitchen had to be established to support the affected residents.
Days later, another land subsidence incident occurred in Udhampur, damaging 20 houses and affecting 2,600 residents of Tandhar village.
Last month, experts from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) examined the causes of land and subsidence in Pernote and submitted a comprehensive report, which included recommendations for precautions to prevent future mudflow slides.
The experts advised against entering the affected area for agricultural or habitation purposes until it is declared safe.
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