Subhash Singh Kumain, 42, who owns a hotel and residence on the main Bhatwari road in
Uttarkashi
town, is among the 50 families who have received
evacuation
notices from the district administration following the recent
landslide
that hit
Varunavat Parvat
on Friday.
“I have been asked to evict and find alternative accommodation on my own until the monsoon season ends.
My entire family’s livelihood depends on our hotel. The administration has only assured us that they will cover the market rent,” Kumain told TOI on Sunday.
He added, “It is difficult to find a rental property at short notice that can accommodate my large family, which includes my three brothers and parents. Additionally, there is uncertainty regarding the duration of our
displacement
from our homes.”
Over 200 residents at the foothills of the Parvat were evacuated last Tuesday after boulders began to fall. The repeated rockfalls from the mountain, which overlooks Uttarkashi town, have revived memories of a series of similar landslides in 2003 when over 3,000 people were evacuated, and around 100 buildings in the hill town were damaged. Satbir Singh Chauhan, a resident of the affected Gufiyara area, expressed constant fear and worry among residents that heavy rain could trigger another landslide.
Commenting on the issue, Vinod Kumar Suman, secretary of the disaster management department, told TOI last week that a significant amount of debris and loose material remains atop Varunavat mountain, posing a risk to the residents at its base.
A technical team led by Tehri Hydro Development Corporation has been tasked with exploring immediate measures to mitigate the situation. “The team will visit Varunavat mountain soon, investigate the cause of the landslide, and suggest immediate measures to be taken to prevent such incidents in the future,” an official said.
Meanwhile, the number of affected houses in Pagnau village of Chamoli district, situated near Joshimath and witnessing repeated subsidence, has risen to 60. Zaman Singh Rawat, the village pradhan, told TOI, “Out of 125 families in our village, 60 have been affected by the disaster. These families are living in temporary shelters provided by the administration.”
Bhagirathi Devi, one of the affected residents, said, “I have been living in a tent with my husband and two children for the past month, awaiting permanent rehabilitation, as returning to our old house is no longer safe.” On Saturday, a district administration team, including a geologist and tehsildar, visited the affected areas in Pagnau village to assess the situation and conduct a geological survey of the site selected for the rehabilitation of the displaced villagers.
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