Last Updated on June 20, 2022 at 4:23 pm
Even after passing of eight long years Saddal-Panjar village in Panchari of Udhampur district in Jammu and Kashmir destroyed by landslides awaits rebuilding. The survivors are still waiting for government to fulfill its promises.
In the year 2014, at least 40 villagers were buried alive after the entire Saddal village in the Panchari Hills of Udhampur came under landslides following incessant rains. Also, 65 houses along with a school building in the hilly region were destroyed. Till now, school has not been rebuilt.
Many people lost their family in the havoc caused by landslides and were left alone without homes. Kapoor Singh told The Tribune that it happened at around 12 noon after heavy rains as he lost six of his family members, including his wife and only him and his son survived. “We are still waiting for the village to be rebuilt and our lives come on track,” says Kapoor Singh.
Villagers alleged that they are still waiting for proper rehabilitation due to the casual approach being adopted by the concerned officials and are fed up with the repeated promises of the authorities. Electricity and water supply haven’t been restored till date. Most of the villagers use solar-powered batteries to charge their phones and for lighting, reportedly.
Another villager, Sansar Singh said that since eight years he hasn’t seen electricity in this village. He further added that his grandchildren study only in daylight and we have no option during evening hours and now the electricity poles have reached the village and they hope that they will have power supply soon.
Jasvir Singh, DDC councillor, Panchari-Moungri told The Tribune that the electricity and the water supply haven’t been restored so far. “We had asked the government that the affected families should be provided help and those who lost their houses and land should be resettled so that they can earn their living,” he adds.
