PUNE: Some cracks that developed during the last monsoon resulted in a boulder collapse on Monday morning at Pasarwadi, a tribal hamlet in Malin village in Ambegaon tehsil, about 120 km from Pune.

The villagers claimed that a massive amount of soil came onto the road just above some houses in the hamlet.The villagers said that the intensity of the rainfall was very high for the last few days and would continue for the next few days. This could be one of the major contributory factors behind the soil fall, they said. It cut off their contact with other villages located on the Junnar and Ambegaon tehsil border. The tehsil administration had to deploy earth movers to clear the soil and restore local commuting in the area."We cleared the soil in the last two years and rainwater was channelled through creating separate water flows on the roadside," said Sanjay Nagtilak, Tehsildar of the Ambegaon tehsil. The villagers said they are afraid of another landslide as they do not know the extent of the internal damage that occurred in the area.

"We shifted two families to a temple at a safe location in the village. They have also been provided with rations for a period of three months.

Our officials have also inspected the site," added Nagtilak. The hamlet, which has about 20 houses and a school, is situated on the cliff of the hill.TOI last highlighted the issue last year. The authorities then promised that the hamlet would be relocated to a new location. However, the actual process is yet to take place. The villagers have been demanding new houses in a safe location for the last few years.Digambar Bhalchim, former Sarpanch of Malin and a resident of the hamlet, told TOI, "We were expecting a quick response from the tehsil administration after the cracks surfaced during last year's monsoon.

However, the administration has not done enough to shift us to a safe location yet. Because of the boulder's collapse, the villagers panicked. The authorities should inspect the site scientifically to understand the severity of the problem.

As a temporary measure, some of the villagers are already in the process of relocating themselves to other hamlets."On relocating villagers, Nagtilak said, "We have already procured two acres of land at a safe location where these villagers will get a land plot to construct houses.

This procedure is done. We will soon hand over these plots to them." Nagtilak claimed that the procurement of land was a tedious procedure, as the plot is owned by 47 tribal villagers."As per the procedures, we had to get consent from all the owners and finalise the rate as per the government rate. To complete the process, it took a year. Positively, we have done it and the land will be given to 34 tribal villagers within the next few days," Nagtilak claimed.Vijay Lembhe, a resident of Malin, said, "The administration should understand the gravity of the matter and respond quickly to ensure the safety of the villagers. It has taken more time than expected to act on the issue already. Now it is high time to resolve the problem."On July 30, 2014, a landslide occurred in the Malin village, in which 151 people died, while over 60 livestock were killed in it.