A crack on the wall of a house in Kurseong’s 14th Mile. Picture by Vivek Singh

Kurseong, June 2: They may have escaped the landslides caused by Cyclone Aila this time, but 10 families at 14th Mile fear that come another deluge, they may not be so lucky.

Huge cracks have appeared on the walls and floors of 10 houses making it difficult for the owners to continue to stay there. Some of the structures have also tilted a little making them more dangerous.

“If it starts raining in the evening, we gather in a single room and stay awake for the entire night. When the storm struck last Tuesday, we feared that we would die but we are thankful to god that nothing happened to us. We may not be so lucky the next time as almost 10 houses have got severe cracks and have tilted,” said Mankala Chhetri, whose house has cracks on the walls and has tilted a bit.

A former gram panchayat member of the area, Nawraj Pradhan, said the cracks had started appearing some three years ago.

The village, 10km from here, situated above NH55 has a population of around 300 with 30 to 35 houses. The area, Pradhan said, is located in a sinking zone. The road below the village had sunk some years ago.

“We had given in writing our plight to the authorities concerned. Some two years ago, the block development officer of Kurseong had also visited the area,” added Pradhan.

“Where can we go? We have no other place to shift this moment. Moreover, we domesticate cows which are our source of income. Moving out means taking the cattle along,” said Mankala, adding that in recent times nobody from the administration had visited the area.

Mankala owns 10-15 cows and her family earns by selling milk in the Gayabari area. But Mankala is not the only one living in fear.

“My whole verandah has huge cracks. Some weeks back we had filled them with cement and sand. The walls have also developed cracks. Whenever it rains, our heart skips a beat,” said Bhagawati Chettri, another resident.

Kurseong subdivisional officer Dipyendu Das confirmed that the village is located in a sinking zone.

“A team from the Geological Survey of India had visited the area last year and in their report they confirmed the fact. The residents have to be shifted from there and currently we are looking for a vacant government land in the area. Once we get that, we will plan the shifting.”