Experts visiting Joshimath as it faces increasing risk of landslides

Joshimath, Jan 5

The holy town of Joshimath in Uttarakhand is facing an increasing risk of landslides, with big cracks appearing in the houses and streets. Due to the critical situation, Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Sinha is visiting the city on Thursday, along with a team of experts.

The team of scientists and experts will study all the aspects of the landslides in the city for two days, and engage with the locals to know more about the problem.

The Uttarakhand BJP unit has also formed a 14-member committee to assess the landslides and the damage.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said: "I will visit Joshimath in a few days. All possible steps will be taken to handle the situation. I have asked the Municipal Corporation Chairman Shailendra Pawar to monitor the situation."

Pawar said that big cracks have appeared in the houses due to leakage of water from inside the land in Marwadi ward of the city.

He added that the residents have been moving to safer places after the landslides.

The weather and the constant danger of the houses collapsing have become a major issue in the city.

Nine wards of the city have been extensively affected by the landslides. The cracks on the walls and floors of the houses are widening by the day, which has alarmed the residents.

Pawar said that more than 3000 people from 576 houses in the city had been affected by the landslides and the houses had been ruined by the increasing cracks.

He apprised that all the houses were being surveyed by the municipality.

Protests were held on the Badrinath Highway on Thursday morning to save Joshimath, which led to a traffic jam.

Earlier, a team of experts had submitted their report to the government after assessing the situation with increasing landslides, and deemed the city's drainage system to be its cause.

The present situation seems to be getting worse, with increasing water leakage due to the widening of the cracks.

The team will have experts from the Disaster Management Department, IIT Roorkee, scientists from Wadia Institute, along with other research institutes.

Content of the old report:

The team sent to Joshimath by the state government in August last year submitted its report in September, 2022.

The report stated that such landslides occurred in the absence of a proper drainage system, which led to soil flowing along with the ground water.

In the report, suggestions were given to make proper arrangements for drainage in the city, to take steps to prevent erosion from the Alaknanda river, to channelise and strengthen drains, among others.

Cracks have appeared in more than 550 houses, which has displaced the locals.

The government has sought suggestions from the local people regarding the displacement.

District Magistrate Chamoli, Himanshu Khurana has been constantly sending reports to the government in this matter, on the basis of which the outline of the upcoming work is being decided.