Joshimath, in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand is seeing severe landslides. Currently, all of the wards in the area have been affected by landslides. On Monday, 2nd January 2023, houses also began to develop cracks, which caused alarm throughout the city.
50 affected residents of JP Company Colony were relocated on Wednesday by the company, while 16 affected families from other wards were relocated to safer locations by the government. 11 affected individuals were relocated from the area earlier. The structures in the low-lying areas are also in danger as a result of the water leaking from the ground in the Marwari area. Cracks have also appeared in BSNL’s office and residential buildings in the town’s Singhdhar ward, posing a risk to the residents who live there.
On Monday night, there were major cracks in 50 residential buildings of JP Company in the Marwari ward of the town. In view of the threat, on Wednesday, JP Company evacuated all the houses and shifted the employees to safe places in different locations. Bharat Bisht, who lives in the company’s residential complex, said that along with the company’s buildings, there have been cracks in his house as well. Water leakage from the ground also continues unabated in parts of the JP Colony. Now the water has started leaking from the walls of many houses as well.
#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
According to a report by Amar Ujala, water coming out of the ground is entering the cracks, which has increased the danger even more. Since Monday, cracks have occurred in some or the other house in all the nine wards of the city – Parsari, Ravigram, Sunil, Upper Bazar, Narsingh Mandir, Manohar Bagh, Singhdhar, Marwari and Gandhi Nagar wards. At the same time, the cracks are constantly increasing. From here, the administration has shifted about 16 affected people on Wednesday and five families on Tuesday. Earlier, six families were also shifted while many of the affected have left their homes.
Auli ropeway operation suspended
The operation of the Auli ropeway has also been suspended till the next orders. Ropeway manager Dinesh Bhatt said that these orders have been received from the administration, while the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) Directorate has not yet ordered to stop the ropeway operations. There have also been cracks in the land around the ropeway tower in Joshimath. This decision has been taken keeping in mind the safety of the tourists.
Post office shifted
The post office operating on the premises of JP Company has been shifted to the head post office in Joshimath. Post office official N Lohani said that the post office operating in the premises was in danger due to leakage of water. Due to this, it has been transferred to the post office of Joshimath.
The building complex of Dharmic institutions also affected
The Jyotirmath complex has also been affected by the landslides. There have been major cracks around the buildings of the complex, the Lakshmi Narayan Temple. Brahmachari Mukundanand, in charge of Jyotirmath, said there were cracks at the entrance, Lakshmi Narayan temple, and in the auditorium.
Hotel Mount View in Singhdhar ward has also been damaged due to landslides. On Monday night, the family living behind the hotel was in a state of panic after hearing the sound of the walls of the hotel being broken. Hotel owner Sunder Lal Semwal said that the hotel has been completely evacuated.
जोशीमठ के लिए सफ़र पर हूँ। रात में हाल्ट लिया है। कमरे में हीटर है, पैरों में रज़ाई है, पास में गर्म पानी की केतली है और सर पर छत है और हाथ में ट्वीट करने के लिए मोबाइल है।
— Meenakshi Kandwal मीनाक्षी कंडवाल (@MinakshiKandwal) January 4, 2023
क्या लिखूँ अपने लोगों के इस दर्द के लिए जो मशाल लेकर इस सर्द रात में सड़क पर हैं।
pic.twitter.com/gWHh1S4NjE
Dr. Brijesh Sati, media in-charge of Jyotirmath, said that Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati of Jyotishpeeth has expressed his concern over the landslide. Shankaracharya has said that the government should work seriously on this issue. Brahmachari Mukundanand, in charge of Jyotirmath, said that soon the disaster service center room will be set up on behalf of the math.
Report by the SDC Foundation and UDAS
The SDC Foundation has released its third report on major natural disasters and accidents occurring in Uttarakhand. According to the Uttarakhand Disaster and Accident Synopsis (UDAS) report, 500 houses in Joshimath are not fit to live. The report has expressed concern over the continuous landslides in Joshimath.
The major part of the report is about the landslide in Joshimath this time. The report says that more than 500 houses in the city are uninhabitable. People alleged that the administration has not taken any action to deal with the situation, due to which they had to take to the streets on December 24. About 800 shops in the city remained closed on the day as a mark of protest. The reasons for Joshimath’s landslides have also been mentioned in the report.
Team of experts to survey Joshimath
The state government is keeping an eye on the entire matter. On the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, a team of experts will leave for Joshimath on Thursday, 5th January 2023. The expert team includes Dr. Piyush Rautela from Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA), Dr. Shantanu Sarkar from Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre (ULMMC), Prof. BK Maheshwari, Manoj Kastha from Geological Survey of India (GSI), Dr. Swapna Mitra Chaudhary from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), and Dr. Gopal Krishna from National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) Roorkee.
Earlier, this team of experts visited Joshimath between August 16 and 20, 2022, and submitted the first report to the government. This team will stay in Joshimath for the next few days and do the survey work. During this time, the team will report to the government regarding both long-term and immediate measures.
