Relief Camps After House Damage: Survey finds 27 homes hit in Dhanbad; other residents allege cracks ignored

Dhanbad: A joint survey by BCCL and the district administration has identified 27 damaged houses in the fire-affected area of Tandabadi village in Katras, where three persons died after their house collapsed due to land subsidence on Tuesday.

The affected families have been shifted to relief camps where arrangements for food and shelter have been made, officials said.

According to survey teams, homes within a 100-metre radius of the incident site have been the worst hit. However, the exercise has triggered dissatisfaction among a large number of residents who claim their houses have also developed cracks but were not included in the official list.

Dhanbad deputy commissioner Aditya Ranjan said that only those houses found structurally damaged and families directly impacted are being accommodated in relief camps. “Temporary shelter is not a permanent solution. Relocation remains the only viable long-term measure,” he said.

Providing further details, the DC said that around 40 families from Bastacola and Lodna areas were earlier shifted to the BCCL township as a precautionary measure. He added that the Sonardih region was not categorised as a high-risk zone in a 2019 survey conducted by the Govt of India, and hence large-scale relocation was not undertaken at the time.

“However, the situation may have evolved over the last seven years. We will seek fresh guidance from the govt,” Ranjan said.