“The houses constructed on top of sedimentary deposits are always prone to disasters”, says Rehmat Ali, a final year student of Earth Sciences. He said that proper study of the village’s land needs to be conducted to ascertain the level of threat.
PT Report | Photos: Mumtaz Hussain
Kharmang, September 25: An ancient settlement named Faltu Kandrik, located in the Kharmang sub-division of Skardu, is under imminent threat due to mass movement, which is causing development and expansion of cracks in the land of the village.
The people of the village are living under fear and uncertainty.
Pamir Times talked to Rehmat Ali, a graduate of Earth Sciences, to get his expert opinion on the natural phenomena. His views are added under each photograph in this report.
The cracks in the land of the village pose serious threat for the houses built on the sedimentary deposits on which the settlmetn has been built.
Water seepage adds to vulnerability of the land. “Water seepage is likely to accelerate the movement of the land mass”, Rehmat Ali said. He said that the speed of the mass movement can be controlled by not irrigating the vulnerable land.The cracks are likely to increase in size with the passage of time. The expansion of the cracks can also accelerate in case of seismic activities, Rehmat added. He suggested that movement on top of the land should be avoided to the optimum level. He said that during the winter the phenomena of frost wedging can add to expansion of the cracks.
Pamir Times is the pioneering community news and views portal of Gilgit – Baltistan, Kohistan, Chitral and the surrounding mountain areas. It is a voluntary, not-for-profit, non-partisan and independent venture initiated by the youth.
