Nothing can be worst than seeing one’s land and their homes cracking and sinking ever hour . Joshimath, the ancient and holy town of Uttarakhand is under the most dangerous crisis and is on the verge of getting collapsed any time soon.
According to the District Disaster Management Department , Cracks have reportedly developed in as many as 561 houses in Joshimath as a result of continued land subsidence in the town.
Witnessing the cracks appearing and rising rapidly in the past few weeks , a total of 66 families are reported to have migrated from Joshimath as of now. Many more are in need of urgent evacuation as their houses have become unsafe.
District Disaster Management Officer NK Joshi said that so far, 561 houses in different areas of the town have developed cracks, including 153 in Ravigram, 127 in Gandhinagar, 71 in Manoharbagh, 52 in Singhdhar, 50 in Parsari, 29 in Upper Bazar, 27 in Suneel, 28 in Marwadi and 24 in Lower Bazar.
“Now the process of increasing cracks in Singhdhar and Marwadi has started. Badrinath NH near Singhdhar Jain locality and JP Company Gate in Marwadi, near the forest department check post, is continuously cracking. This crack is increasing every hour, which is worrying,” said Joshimath Municipal Chairman Shailendra Pawar.
As many as nine houses in Marwadi have reported cracks and at the same time cracks have started appearing in most public roads of the ward, stated the City Board Chairman, Joshimath. District Disaster Management Department has also reported cases of water seepage from underground in JP Colony, Marwadi ward of Joshimath.
The residents of Joshimath on Thursday had blocked the Badrinath national highway. The worried locals have been petitioning the government to stop all constructions in their town which is “sinking” town. The locals came out on Wednesday evening on the streets with flaming torchlights demanding solution and rehabilitation . Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti convener Atul Sati said they are demanding immediate rehabilitation of residents of Joshimath.
जोशीमठ नगर अब अंतिम साँस ले रहा है
कितने घर कल बचेंगे पता नहीं, बड़े बुजुर्ग कहते है कि तैयारी के साथ सोएँ नींद में भागना न पड़े 😔
इस हिमालई क्षेत्र की आवाज़ को पूरे देश में पहुँचाएँ 🙏😔 #SaveJoshimath #Joshimath pic.twitter.com/9c13IstncA— Uniyal Bhuwan Chandra (@uniyalbadrinath) January 4, 2023
According to reports the cause of the sinking town is that Joshimath was built on an ancient landslide site located at the height of 6,000 feet.
Earlier Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had assured of taking necessary actions to save the people of the district.
The Uttarakhand government formed a team of scientists on Thursday including engineers from the Geological Survey of India, Wadia Institute and IIT Roorkee, to find out the reason behind the occurrence of land subsidence and cracks in the houses in Joshimath.
As per reports, Chamoli district magistrate ordered immediate suspension of work on Tapovan-Vishnugad hydro project and ongoing construction of Helang bypass — the projects that are considered to be one of the main reasons for subsidence.
#WATCH | Land subsidence and cracks in many houses continue in Uttarakhand's Joshimath. Cracks have appeared on 561 houses in Joshimath, and water seepage continues from underground in JP Colony, Marwadi. pic.twitter.com/vo7IxIh1Xl
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 5, 2023
