Nurpur, Himachal Pradesh, Sept. 4 — A severe landslide and land subsidence struck Mugnial village in Minjgran gram panchayat, Nurpur, leaving six families homeless and causing major structural damage, officials said Thursday.
Continuous rainfall over the past few days triggered the disaster, which caused massive cracks in houses and cow sheds, rendering them unsafe for habitation. Six families belonging to the Schedule Tribe (Gaddi) community were affected, with both homes and livestock shelters damaged. Authorities temporarily relocated the residents to the panchayat office and anganwadi kendra for safety.
“This is not the first time our village has faced such a crisis,” said Suman Sharma, chairperson of Minjgran panchayat. “If timely measures are not taken by the government, the entire village could face a similar disaster in the future. Most of Mugnial’s inhabited area has become landslide-prone due to the fragile strata of the hill alongside the houses.”
The village had experienced a similar land subsidence in August 2023, which also left six families homeless. After receiving information about the latest landslide, Sharma and other elected members of the gram panchayat rushed to the site to assist affected families.
Tehsildar Nurpur, Radhika Saini, who inspected the damaged structures, confirmed that houses belonging to Chain Singh, Lekh Raj, Maya Devi, Raj Kumar, Sajeevan, and Burfi Ram were unfit for habitation. SDM Nurpur Arun Sharma said the administration provided plastic tent sheets as immediate relief and urged families to submit online applications with supporting documents at lok mitra kendras to avail assistance under the state government’s revised relief manual.
Meanwhile, three additional houses in Hadal panchayat, Nurpur, were also damaged by landslides, and the affected families have been relocated to safer locations, authorities said.
Officials warned that the region remains highly vulnerable due to unstable hill slopes and ongoing rainfall, and residents are being advised to remain cautious.
