Families abandon village near Mussoorie after rain, landslide

CHALCHALA: It’s been three days since 26-year-old Alpana Melwal and her family moved out of Chalchala village, 12 km from Mussoorie, following massive landslides triggered by incessant rains. And without much help and more rain predicted, the situation doesn’t seem to get any better.
Following heavy rainfall and landslide, the mountain under which the Chalchala village is situated developed a deep crack like the one in Varnavrat in Uttarkashi last year.Following which there was a big landslide on Monday evening.Alapana and 15 other families in Chalchala village have been living in the nearby village Kotli .
“My husband is bed ridden and I have three children. We left everything behind and came here. And now even if it means that I have to risk my life to get basics such as ration and clothes, I have no option but to travel every day,” she said.
Same is the case with Urmila Devi, who is staying in makeshift rooms of her cattle shed with four other members of her family in Kotli village. “With the roof leaking and dumps all around, it’s not at all easy to stay in cattle sheds,” she said.
Parents are also worried as cracks on the walls of a nearby school in Burnanskhanda where most students study remind them of an apparent threat. Amisha Melwal, class VIII student, said, “Our school is uphill and after seeing big rocks tumble down the mountains, I am very scared. Also, our classroom has cracks and it seems it will collapse anytime.”
While some have gone to their relatives place, most have nowhere to go. And without much help or initiative from the government, the situation might escalate.
The incident took place on August 7 and MLA Ganesh Joshi inspected the area on Tuesday and took stock of the situation. He said, “It seems as if the mountain can come down anytime. There is very little that we can do now. The rains have to stop first for us to do any repair work. I have already spoken to the disaster department about the same.”