ZAHID BASHIR

Gool, Oct 3: Racing against the time, in view of the approaching winter season, hundreds of victims of ‘sinking village’ of Gool area are still waiting for any help from the government.
 Around 45 families, comprising more than 400 souls, are presently putting up in the houses of their relatives after they were evacuated from Dharam village as their houses suffered major damage due to the fissures which suddenly surfaced in the area. Around 49 structures, including a Masjid, had suffered damage after the village started sinking on September 24.
 Locals said that the district administration failed to provide any alternate accommodation to the villagers after their evacuation from the village.
 “We had no where to go after we left our home”, one of the victim told Greater Kashmir adding that he alongwith his family was putting up in the house of his sister in Gool, since the tragedy struck.
 If the victims have to be believed the civil administration has prescribed a lengthy procedure for getting the financial help, which till now has remained only a promise. “We are facing lot of harassment at the hands of the revenue officials and the formalities are too troublesome to be completed at a time, when we are already under shock”.
 “The major concern for the victim is the winter season, which has almost started to set in the region”, Abdul Rehman, a resident of Gool said. In absence of any proper accommodation, he said, the victims will be facing severe threat of life.
 The officials on the other hand said that immediate required relief was being provided to the victim, while the rehabilitation process will take some more time. “A high level team of Geology and Mining Department has already inspected the area to ascertain as if the village is worth of living or not”, a senior district official said adding, “The state government is also formulating a plan to plan to rehabilitate the villagers at a safer place, in case the need arise”.
 Pertinently, around 49 structures, including a primary school building, a mosque, and a water reservoir, were destroyed due to loose soil and incessant rains in the area.  The local residents have been blaming a private construction company, executing railway construction work in the area, for the tragedy.
 “The company has violated set norms while digging tunnel beneath the village as a result of which the villagers have been left homeless”, a local said. He said that around four years back 20 houses in a nearby village had suffered similar loss due to the railway construction work.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 3 Oct 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 3 Oct 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 4 Oct 2010 00:00:00 IST