India

Joshimath: A key town on route to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, now ‘sinking’

January 6, 2023
newstribe

As protests continued in Joshimath where over 560 houses developed cracks in the wake of land subsidence, and 50 families staying in houses at risk were rehabilitated, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that he would hold a high-level meeting on Friday evening to take stock of the situation.

“I will hold a high-level meeting in Dehradun this evening regarding landslides in Joshimath and the cracks in the houses,” the Chief Minister told news agency ANI.

The town observed a bandh to protest against administrative indifference to the plight of residents and the “NTPC projects which have led to its gradual sinking”.

People descended on the streets shouting slogans against an “idle administration” and staged a chakka jam while the business establishments remained closed, Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti convenor Atul Sati said.

The Congress has come out in criticism against the state government, saying that it had turned a blind eye towards the apathy of the people. “Landslides are happening continuously in Joshimath (Jyotirmath). Due to cracks in many houses in Joshimath, people are forced to spend the night on the streets in the bitter cold. The state government should take appropriate steps to save Joshimath from landslides,” the party tweeted.

Senior leader Ganesh Godiyal, in a tweet, said: “The majority that BJP has got in the state is only to run and rule the government, the government is sleeping peacefully without caring about the interests of the people!”

Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Abhishek Tripathi came to persuade the agitators staging a dharna but he was told that it will continue until decisive action is taken on their demands.

The demands include immediate rehabilitation of residents, stopping construction of an NTPC tunnel and a bypass road between Helang and Marwadi for Badrinath and fixing responsibility of this disaster on the NTPC’s Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project, he said.

The district administration subsequently put a ban on the construction of Helang bypass by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), work of the Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project and other construction work undertaken by the municipality with immediate effect till further orders.

The NTPC and the Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) have also been asked to build 2,000 prefabricated houses each in advance for the affected families.

So far 47 families living in houses at risk after developing cracks have been shifted to safer locations temporarily including Nagar Palika Bhawan, a primary school building, the Milan Kendra, BKTC guest house, GIC, Gurudwara, inter college building and ITI Tapovan, District Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi said.

High-risk seismic zone

Located at a height of 6,000 feet in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, the town on the route to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib falls in high-risk seismic ‘Zone-V’.

Joshimath also acts as a key transit point for tourists travelling to both Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib as a halt here is what most take before carrying on with their journey. As such, the town has a number of homestays and hotels, many of which have been hit by the subsidence.

Landslide in the Joshimath of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Cracks started appearing in the houses due to landslides causing panic spread in the whole city. (PTI Photo)

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, Joshi said.

The degree of damage to the houses differ, he said, adding that more families could be evacuated if required. Some of the families have also been shifted for the time being to the places of their relatives, Joshi added.

(With inputs from PTI)



Source link