SRINAGAR: Land subsidence in Kheri village on the outskirts of Jammu has intensified over the past month, damaging homes and leaving residents fearful of losing them, with locals blaming tunnel construction on the Jammu Ring Road project, according to a report by ETV Bharat.
The report found that the sinking, which residents say began after tunnel construction started, has progressively spread and intensified. Residents told ETV Bharat that their ancestors had lived in the village for generations without witnessing such land movement.
Mukhtyara Begum, an elderly resident who still visits the village almost every day, said one of her two houses was completely damaged last year. The family received Rs 1.25 lakh in compensation from the administration and had hoped to use the money to repair the house.
“Last year, one of our two houses was completely damaged, and we got compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh from the administration. We thought of using it for repairs, but this year the situation is becoming worse,” Mukhtyara told ETV Bharat.
She said the sinking had widened considerably during the past month and appeared to be spreading towards other areas.
Several residents of Kheri, which falls in the Raipur area of Jammu district and is located a few kilometres from Jammu city, have linked the subsidence to construction of tunnels being built as part of the Jammu Ring Road project.
Ghulam Muhammad, a resident in his seventies, told ETV Bharat that the subsidence had been visible for more than a year but had initially been limited.
“It was on a small scale last year but this year, and especially in the last month, the level of sinking has been high,” he said, attributing the timing to the commencement of tunnel work and suggesting that heavy construction machinery might have contributed to the problem.
“Our ancestors have been living here for over 300 to 400 years and we have never heard of land sinking before. We believe that the tunnel construction is the main reason behind this erosion,” he said.
The residents’ concerns, however, have not yet been substantiated by an official technical assessment establishing the cause of the subsidence.
Naseema Bi, another resident, told ETV Bharat that families were living under constant fear and had nowhere to relocate.
“We want to shift to another place but have no place to go. We spend sleepless nights as the threat of sinking aggravates every passing hour,” she said.
She added that residents had approached the construction company involved in the tunnel work for assistance but were asked to provide documentary evidence establishing that the sinking was caused by tunnel construction.
Kheri is not the first area in Jammu and Kashmir to experience land subsidence. In recent years, cases have been reported from Parnote in Ramban district, Thathri in Doda, Tharar near Balli Nallah along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and the upper belt of Bathindi in Jammu city.
According to the ETV Bharat report, however, Kheri is distinctive in that residents have directly associated the phenomenon with an ongoing developmental project.
Climate activists have also been monitoring the situation. Anmol Ohrie, a Jammu-based climate activist, told ETV Bharat that he and his team had been studying land subsidence cases for the past two to three years, particularly following the land sinking witnessed at Joshimath in Uttarakhand.
He said Kheri’s problem had not received adequate attention despite its seriousness.
“We visited Pernote, Thathri and other areas. We believe that Kheri is not getting attention as it is a sparsely populated area. But the situation is worrisome,” Ohrie said.
Another activist, Agriya Singh Chauhan, said the situation had continued to deteriorate and that activists were attempting to provide legal support to affected residents.
“The map of the area has drastically changed. The administration needs to look into the issue,” she said, adding that what began on a small scale had now spread across a larger area.
The Jammu Ring Road project is reported to be around 90 per cent complete, with two tunnel projects delaying its completion. The National Highways Authority of India had previously cited “loose soil” in the area as a reason for delays in tunnel construction.
NHAI officials, however, told ETV Bharat that nobody had approached them regarding the land subsidence and therefore they could not comment on whether the sinking had occurred or determine how it had happened.
The Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Jammu North, under whose jurisdiction Kheri falls, was not available for comment despite repeated attempts, according to the report.
For residents such as Mukhtyara, the immediate concern remains whether the ground beneath their homes will stabilise before more houses are damaged, leaving families with compensation but no secure place to rebuild their lives.
