Joint Survey in Dhanbad Identifies 27 Damaged Houses After Fatal Land Subsidence Incident
A comprehensive joint survey conducted by Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and the Dhanbad district administration has officially identified 27 damaged houses in the fire-affected area of Tandabadi village, located in the Katras region. This assessment comes in the wake of a tragic incident on Tuesday where three individuals lost their lives after their house collapsed due to severe land subsidence.
Relief Efforts and Resident Dissatisfaction
The affected families have been promptly shifted to designated relief camps, where authorities have made necessary arrangements for food and shelter, according to official statements. Survey teams reported that homes situated within a 100-metre radius of the incident site have suffered the most significant damage.
However, the survey exercise has sparked considerable dissatisfaction among a large number of residents. Many locals claim that their houses have also developed cracks and structural issues but were not included in the official list of damaged properties, leading to concerns about the comprehensiveness of the assessment.
Official Statements on Relief and Relocation
Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Aditya Ranjan clarified the administration's stance, emphasizing that only those houses found to be structurally damaged and families directly impacted by the incident are being accommodated in the relief camps. "Temporary shelter is not a permanent solution. Relocation remains the only viable long-term measure," Ranjan stated, highlighting the need for sustainable actions.
Providing further details, the Deputy Commissioner revealed that approximately 40 families from Bastacola and Lodna areas were previously shifted to the BCCL township as a precautionary measure in response to earlier concerns. He added that the Sonardih region was not categorized as a high-risk zone in a 2019 survey conducted by the Government of India, which explains why large-scale relocation was not undertaken at that time.
"However, the situation may have evolved over the last seven years. We will seek fresh guidance from the government," Ranjan noted, indicating that updated assessments and potential policy revisions are under consideration to address the evolving ground realities.
