Villagers of Kaunja in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district have demanded that the government rehabilitate them to safer places as landslides and flash floods are gnawing into their mountainous abode.

The state’s BJP government, however, does not have any immediate plan for relocation.

The residents said they were spending sleepless nights as landslides, whose frequency and intensity have been increasing over a month, and flash floods have damaged huts and played havoc with their agricultural fields.

“The landslides started two months ago. They damaged some huts on the periphery of our village. But the frequency has increased since August 13 following massive rainfall. The road and several hectares of agricultural land have been washed away by flash floods. Frequent landslides have destroyed some houses. A bridge between the Kaunja and Dungri villages has been swept away. Huge boulders are hanging precariously from the hills and can fall on us anytime,” Kundan Singh, the panchayat chief, said on Tuesday.

“Every villager had some agricultural land that was their only source of livelihood. But it doesn’t exist anymore as there are rocks and rubbles all over. The villagers don’t sleep in fear that rain and landslides will wash away their houses,” he added.

Rama Singh, a resident, said: “There are 45 families in the village who are living a dangerous life but don’t have any place to go to. We have written to the government to relocate us somewhere else as Kaunja is no longer a habitable place.”

Nand Kishore Joshi, the district disaster management officer of Chamoli, said the government was aware of the problem and a report had been handed over to senior officials.

“We had recently surveyed the village. Frequent and massive landslides have made life miserable for the villagers. We have asked the villagers to shift to safer places during heavy rainfall. The government has decided to go for treatment of the landslide zones as of now. This will solve the problem,” Joshi said.

Landslide treatment refers to vegetative and structural measures that are taken in a landslide-prone area and its catchment that seek to reduce soil erosion.

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had also spoken about this option.

“These areas are among 89 landslide-prone zones in the state that need immediate treatment to prevent further erosion of the hills and protect the people. The Centre has already approved Rs 971 crore for the work,” he said.