In the midst of the continuing crisis in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stated that the government is working on interim rehabilitation and pre-fabricated buildings for impacted people who have been forced to leave the region owing to land subsidence.
According to an official statement issued by the Uttarakhand government, Chief Minister Dhami stated that at least 100 to 150 pre-fabricated shelters will be erected to assist those impacted by subsidence. This is after Emaar India CEO Kalyan Chakraborty met the Uttarakhand CM at the secretariat on Tuesday.
“Rehabilitation works are in progress in the area. The Char Dham Yatra is to begin after four months. He said that at such a time the message should not go that the entire Joshimath area is unsafe. Many misconceptions are being spread about Joshimath, which are not correct. Around 70 per cent of shops are open and essential work is being conducted normally,” said the Chief Minister asking everyone to be cooperative in helping the affected people of Joshimath.
Noting that the redevelopment work in the area is government’s top priority for now, the Chief Minister said, “We have to work in this direction so that the Joshimath area, which has cultural, religious and strategic value, should be safe. It is our responsibility to restore Joshimath to its former glory.”
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also constantly reviewing the redevelopment work and that he has assured to extend all the possible help to the affected persons.
Following the ground subsidence that displaced numerous residents in Joshimath, Himanshu Khurana, District Magistrate of Chamoli, stated that the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) has started constructing one, two, and three BHK type pre-fabricated homes for the afflicted families.
The Chamoli DM directed the authorities to speed up the development work by assessing the location, and he noted that property in Dhak had also been chosen. “For this, the Disaster Department has released Rs 2 crore 14 lakhs,” he said.
Meanwhile, Secretary Disaster Management Ranjit Kumar Sinha earlier noted that Rs 3.45 crore has been disbursed as temporary relief to 261 affected households in Joshimath.
What happened at Joshimath?
Authorities designated Joshimath, Uttarakhand, a landslide and subsidence-hit zone on Sunday, nearly a week after fractures developed in major highways and hundreds of buildings. The statement came during a high-level conference with senior Central government officials, Uttarakhand state officials, and top personnel from agencies such as the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Geological Survey of India (GSI), and the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH).
According to the officials, as of Sunday around 68 families were evacuated to temporary relief centres and around 90 more were supposed to be evacuated soon. Joshimath, also known as Jyotirmath is situated in the Chamoli district of the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand and is bounded by two regional thrusts named Vaikrita to the north and Munsiari to the south.
The city is located in the Middle Himalayas at an elevation of around 1875 metres. It is also a popular tourist and religious destination due to its proximity to the holy shrine of Badrinath, the Valley of Flowers National Park, and Shri Hemkund Sahib, a holy Sikh pilgrimage site.
Reports mention that the 1991 and 1999 earthquakes proved that the area is susceptible to earthquakes. Also, scientists from the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing in Dehradun, based on satellite data from July 2020 to March 2022, discovered that Joshimath and the surrounding areas were sinking at a pace of 6.5 cm (2.5 inches) each year. Their discoveries are consistent with the base eroding of the Joshimath slope along the Alaknanda river.
Assumed causes of Joshimath land subsidence
The actual cause of the Joshimath land subsidence is unknown, although experts believe it was caused by uncontrolled development, overcrowding, restriction of the natural flow of water, and hydropower operations.
According to experts, Joshimath city has been developed on an old landslide material, which means it is built on a deposit of sand and stone rather than rock, which does not have a great load-bearing capability. As a result, the area is very sensitive to expanding infrastructure and population.
Moreover, unplanned and unregulated development has obstructed the natural flow of water, resulting in regular landslides. Reports earlier also mentioned that one of the causes of the disaster is the development of NTPC’s Tapovan Vishnugad Hydro Power Project. Water seepage from a perforated aquifer was discovered in the tunnel, resulting in the drying of water sources in Joshimath.
However, NTPC official has said that linking the land subsidence near Joshimath to the Tapovan Vishnugad Hydroelectric Project is incorrect. According to the official, the tunnel is being built beneath “competent rock” and has no effect on the surrounding rock mass.
“It is wrong to relate the situation in Joshimath with the NTPC tunnel since it is being constructed with the help of a tunnel boring machine. Out of the 12 km long tunnel, the 8.5 km tunnel is being done by tunnel boring and the rest will be done by blasting. The tunnel does not pass through Joshimath,” the official said.
What is land subsidence
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), subsidence is the sinking of the ground because of underground material movement. It can happen for a variety of reasons, both man-made and natural, such as the extraction of water, oil, or natural resources, as well as mining activities. Some well-known causes of subsidence include earthquakes, soil erosion, and soil compaction.
