Dhanbad: Cracks emerged on the walls of more than 12 houses in a locality in Jharia, off the Dhanbad-Sindri Main Road, on Wednesday. Panic stricken families began evacuating their homes in Dharmanagar in Chouthai Kulhi area as locals claimed the cracks, which also developed on the ground along with the buildings, kept widening with each passing hour.Locals said Dharmanagar was once a part of an old mining zone, and people have been living here for nearly 50 years. The hollow underground left by past mining activities is suspected to be the primary reason behind the emerging cracks, indicating a potential recurrence of subsidence.Jharia MLA Ragini Singh, Dhanbad mayor Sanjeev Singh, Jharia circle officer Manoj Kumar and officials of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) visited Dharmanagar and took stock of the situation. Affected families expressed anger towards the administration and management for alleged negligence.
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Ten houses have been severely impacted, officials said. During the inspection, public representatives urged BCCL officials to immediately relocate affected families to safer places. Authorities assured that temporary rehabilitation would be arranged at Belgaria township. “The district administration and BCCL will be accountable if an accident occurs in near future,” Ragini said.
