After Joshimath, wide cracks in Uttarkashi's Mastari village cause panic

Wide cracks have appeared in the roads and walls of several homes in Mastari village here, nearly 300 km from Joshimath, which caught national attention earlier this year when thousands of people had to be evacuated to safer locations due to land subsidence.

The quick response team of the disaster management authority rushed to the village to inspect the cracks and asked people there to be alert.

While land subsidence is an old problem in the village, rains last Saturday led to the widening of cracks at people's homes, with water beginning to stream out of the crevices, causing panic among the villagers, Satyanarayan Semwal, the head of Mastari, said.

"Landslides are happening continuously in the village but the authorities are not paying as much attention to Mastari as it deserves," Semwal said.

The problem of land subsidence began in Mastari village after the earthquake of 1991, locals say.

In 1997, geologists conducted a survey in the village and suggested that the villagers be