Uttrakhand villagers seek evacuation as houses crack up in soil erosion by swollen Rishiganga

Locals in Chamoli's Raini village say due to the sudden rise of the water level in Rishiganga, several houses in their area have reported big cracks in their walls, leading to an imminent fear that their residences might collapse.

The villagers have urged authorities to evacuate them to safer places view of the danger of landslides due to the erosion by river Rishiganga which has swollen due to incessant rains over the past few days.

"No one from the government, be it our MLA or the ministers, are visiting us. I do not know why they are not doing so. We now sleep in our fields at night. Where else can we go? We sleep with anxieties. There are sounds, the whole village has caved in, the walls have suffered big cracks, we should have been evacuated right away," one villager said.

"We do not know where the government is sleeping. They must be doing some paperwork in Joshimuth, but no officials has come to see our condition," he added.

An old woman from the area said that residents of the village which had once showed the world the way through 'Chipko Andolan' are now "shedding tears of blood."

"Women and men of our village are very troubled. We are weeping for the last three days. Women carry theirchildren and go to jungles to sleep at night. The village that showed the world the way for Chipko Andolan are shedding tears of blood. The walls are sustaining cracks but the government is nowhere to be seen," she said.

Raini village also houses the memorial of Chipko Netri Gaura Devi and its walls have also suffered big cracks.

The Army and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) have shifted the idol of Gaura Devi from the memorial to a safe place in view of the danger of landslides due to the erosion below the village by river Rishiganga.

Battered by incessant rains over the past few days, river Rishiganga has swollen and causing soil erosion from underneath the village.

( With inputs from ANI )

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