Anoop Nautiyal
Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Joshimath is a small town in the hill district of Chamoli in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. Perched at 6,000 feet; the town is the gateway for Badrinath, Auli, Hemkund Sahib & UNESCO World Heritage site of Valley of Flowers. The town holds strategic importance with the presence of substantial numbers of army personnel stationed in the region.
In a matter of extreme alarm & concern; parts of Joshimath have been witnessing cracks in the walls & ceilings of homes, hotels, resorts & various other business establishments. This has naturally resulted in a state of panic for a town that is home to 20,000 people (census pop 16709 in 2011). In fact, Joshimath has had a history of sinking with the Mishra Committee reporting this the first time in 1976.
The sinkings have exacerbated in recent months prompting the state government to constitute a committee of experts from the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA), CBRI Roorkee, IIT Roorkee, Wadia Institute, Dehradun & the Geological Survey of India. The expert committee that was tasked to undertake geological & geotechnical investigations had visited Joshimath in August this year & found that the town was built on an unstable foundation which can give way in case of heavy rains, tremors, unregulated construction or far more footfalls than the towns carrying capacity. The team attributed the sinking to the numerous homes, hotels & resorts that have mushroomed on Joshimath-Auli route. Poor drainage, sewage & erosion by rivers have aggravated the situation.
In the recent flashpoint, a key stretch of the key Joshimath-Helang highway has caved in with several hotels & homes also developing fresh cracks. Alarmed & panicked, this has prompted the citizens & local businesses to protest against the sinking of the town. A march was organized under the banner of Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (Save Joshimath Group). The group has demanded that the town be saved based on recommendations made by the expert committee, banning of large scale constructions, stopping the construction of the bye-pass road, putting a stop on the hydropower projects in the region & rehabilitation of the impacted families.
In a fresh series of initiatives targeted at resolving the situation, the state government has ordered a detailed bearing capacity study, ordered the Irrigation Department to make a drainage plan & conduct a geological study of the town. A meeting has also been called next year on January 15. The District Magistrate Of Chamoli has received a slew of instructions from his Dehradun based seniors.
Let us hope that the thousands of people who live in Joshimath & the many who visit the town will be safe and sound. Naturally, authorities have to move in quick & fast. Time is precious & Uttarakhand is a state known for its frequent disasters & casualties. Hope & pray that this will pass and Joshimath will be as beautiful, as spiritual & as majestic as ever.
