• In October 2021, around 14-15 houses in Joshimath's Chhawni Bazaar and Gandhinagar area developed cracks
• Roughly ten years ago Chai/Chai village situated at a distance of about 10 km from Joshimath was submerged due to a tunnel
Joshimath in Uttarakhand is grappling with an unprecedented crisis that has rendered thousands of people homeless. Of the roughly 25,000 population, about 800 are holed up in camps or lodges, while others have left the city after their homes developed ooze cracks over the past few weeks. The number of buildings that had developed cracks increased to 849 on 16 January, of which 165 are located in the danger zone.
Abhishek Shah, who runs a three-room lodge in the hill town, said, "Even if the government gives us a place to stay, where will it get our jobs? Along with our sources of income, my lodge is under threat due to two hotel buildings." have developed cracks - Snow Crest and Comet".
Both the hotels are dangerously leaning towards each other and have been evacuated as a precaution. Snow Crest owner's daughter Pooja Prajapati said, "The difference between the two hotels was about four feet earlier, but now it has reduced to just a few inches and their roofs are almost touching each other."
The current ordeal the people of Joshimath are facing may have been unexpected, but there are constant warnings from geologists, researchers, environmentalists and activists about the town's fragile topography.
In October 2021, cracks appeared in about 14-15 houses in Joshimath's Cantonment Bazar and Gandhinagar area. Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (JBSS) spokesperson Kamal Ratauri told Mint, “The initial land subsidence took place around October and November 2021 in Chhawni Bazar and Gandhinagar area. We protested in the city on December 16, but I am deeply saddened that The government wasted 14 months in not taking this issue seriously. Had we done something then, we would have saved Joshimath today." Besides this, Ratauri advised the administration to deploy psychiatrists in the city as people are suffering from depression and trauma due to the massive financial loss.
Ramdan Prasad Dimri, a Hindu priest at the Narasimha temple, told Mint that Chaiyan/Chai village, about 10 km from Joshimath, was submerged due to a tunnel ten years ago. JBSS convenor Atul Sati said that there is a power plant project in Chai village and many activists opposed the then government, but all efforts went in vain. JBSS is protesting against hydroelectric projects and road infrastructure which are harmful to Joshimath.
In 1976, MC Mishra, the (then) Garhwal commissioner in Uttar Pradesh, conducted a survey of Joshimath to understand the causes of landslides. The "famous" Misra Committee report noted, "Joshimath is a deposit of sand and boulders - it is not the main rock - so it was not suitable for a settlement. Vibrations resulting from explosions, heavy traffic, etc., due to natural factors will create an imbalance in...".
Despite that report, 52 hydroelectric stations exist or are under construction in Chamoli district. There are about 23 hydropower projects in the Alaknanda basin including Nandprayag Langasu, Lata Tapovan, Devsari Dam, Vishnugarh, Pipalkoti etc. Apart from these, more HEPs have been planned and are under construction like Kaliganga, Singoli, Bhatwari, etc. A 6 km long Helang-Marwari bypass is also being constructed at Joshimath by the Border Roads Organization (BRO). The bypass is part of the 825 km Char Dham Highway expansion project in Uttarakhand.
NTPC started construction of the 520 MW Tapovan Vishnugarh project in November 2006 and Jaypee Group's 400 MW Vishnuprayag hydro-electric project was commissioned in October 2006. After the 2013 Kedarnath floods, Ravi Chopra, director of the People's Science Institute, also warned that a glacial retreat in the state, combined with structures built for hydroelectric power generation and dams, could lead to large-scale disasters downstream .
Similarly, after the 2021 Raini village tragedy, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) prepared a report in 2022. It noted, "Eight major glacier systems exist under the Nanda Devi mountain systems. There are a total of 16 river basin systems in Chamoli. District, Uttarakhand. The study area has fragile geotectonic mountain ranges and an eco-sensitive glacier of Nanda Devi." system. Due to its proximity to the Main Central Thrust (MCT) which is the most active seismic zone and is vulnerable to various types of seismic hazards".
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