Jammu and Kashmir: 27 houses of a village collapse in landslides

Ramban Assistant Commissioner (Revenue) Dhirender Sharma said that 27 families had been shifted to a nearby government high school and other available government buildings. However, the earth in the area was still moving, and there could be more damage to property, he said, adding the exact details would be available by Monday afternoon.

The landslides on the hill were triggered by Friday rains that blocked the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. In Dhalwas village, situated on the hill, nearly a dozen houses collapsed completely and many others were partially damaged.

However, more houses collapsed as the ground started shaking again after the Border Roads Organisation began road-clearing work, causing fresh landslides, Sunday. The distressed villagers objected to the road clearance, making senior officers from the civil administration and the traffic police visit the area.

Dhalwas Sarpanch Zaitoon Begum said a total of 29 houses had collapsed, while 11 others were damaged extensively and were not worth living in.

Inspector General of Police (Traffic) T Namgyal admitted that there had been an issue with villagers at Dhalwas, who were in distress. The civil administration is trying to resolve the issue and they are likely to resume road clearance work on Monday, he added.