Joshimath Sinking: Uttarakhand Government to Study Carrying Capacity of Himalayan Hilly Areas
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 13: Alarmed by land causing sinking of the pilgrim town of Joshimath, the Uttarakhand government has decided to investigate the cause of subsidence in the Himalayan town and carrying capacity of all hilly areas besides probing if power firm NTPC is responsible for the sinking of land in Joshimath.
The key decisions were taken at a meeting of the state cabinet held to assess the situation in the “sinking” town. Life in the hill town of Joshimath has been disrupted in the last few days as residents took to the streets to demand action for the cracks that have developed in their houses.
“We have shifted 99 families from Joshimath so far and ₹ 1.5 Lakh ex-gratia is being given. Assessment for rehabilitation is underway and we’re making key decisions for future,” Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said after the meeting.
“We have not demolished any houses so far and survey team is present over there,” he added. The chief minister also said that ₹ 1.50 lakh is being given immediately as interim assistance to all those whose houses, shops and businesses have been affected.
The state government will also approach the centre for a relief package. Two members from each family that has been relocated will be given jobs under MNREGA, the government said. These families will also be exempted from paying electricity and water bills for the next six months, it added. All state ministers will donate a month’s salary to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, the government added further.
Hundreds of structures have developed cracks leading to authorities “carefully” dismantling two hotels on Thursday, a day after protesters halted the operation demanding better compensation. Residents and experts have protested against power plant construction in the area, which they partly blame for the land sinking.
The state-owned firm, however, has told the power ministry it has no role in the subsidence of the region. A 12-kilometer long tunnel connected to the Tapovan Vishnugad hydroelectric project is 1 kilometre away from Joshimath town and at least a kilometre below the ground, it said.
The problems to the town, the gateway to the temple town of Badrinath, one of the four famous pilgrim centres of “Chaar Dham Yatra,” was accentuated by the rapid sinking of 5.4 cm in just 12 days, according to a report by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Satellite images released by ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Centre show the town sank 5.4 cm between December 27 and January 8. The report, quoting witnesses, said the massive soil sinking occurred due to “a rapid subsidence event that was triggered on January 2, 2022.”
“The region subsided around 5 cm within a span of a few days and the areal extent of subsidence has also increased. But it is confined to the central part of Joshimath town,” the NRSC report said. It said a subsidence zone resembling a generic landslide shape was identified – tapered top and fanning out at base.
The images show the Army Helipad and Narsingh Temple as the prominent landmarks in the subsidence zone that spans the central part of Joshimath town. The rapid shifting of soil occurred in the central Joshimath, in the region around an Army Helipad and a temple. “The crown of the subsidence is located near Joshimath-Auli road at a height of 2,180 metre,” ISRO’s report said.
The space agency also found that the sinking rate was much lower in the previous months. Between April and November last year, Joshimath sank by 9 cm. “Slow subsidence up to 9 cm within the Joshimath town is recorded over a period of 7 months, between April and November 2022,” the report said. The pictures have been taken from the Cartosat-2S satellite.
Some 4,000 people have been moved to relief camps after a satellite survey. Besides hotels and business establishments, 678 homes are in danger, the Uttarakhand government has said.
Residents and experts blame the crisis on unplanned and chaotic infrastructure projects in the region, especially a power plant that involved blasts and drilling in the mountains.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who visited Joshimath and held meetings with locals and experts on Thursday, said a committee will decide the rate for compensation to be paid to the affected families, keeping in mind the interests of stakeholders.
“For now, ₹ 1.5 lakh will be given to each affected family. This is only a temporary measure. We are still working on compensation rates,” he said. Home Minister Amit Shah also led a high-level meeting to review the situation with Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, RK Singh, Bhupendra Yadav and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and senior government officials at his home.
Joshimath is also called the “winter seat” of Lord Badrinath, whose idol is brought down from the main Badrinath temple to Vasudeva temple in the town every winter. It is also the gateway to the Sikh holy shrine Hemkund Sahib.
Joshimath, home to the monastery of Adi Sankaracharya, is built on the deposits of an old landslide which means the slopes can be destabilised even by slight triggers. The town is also in Zone V, denoting highest risk, in India’s seismic zonation scheme. Joshimath’s geological setting, together with the unplanned and rampant construction in and around the town, has resulted in land subsidence.
The signs of subsidence had first appeared in October 2021 but the situation became particularly alarming towards the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, when large parts of the town experienced sudden land sinking and many houses developed cracks.
A report on Joshimath published by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) in September 2022 said floods in June 2013 and February 2021 heightened erosion in the area. Very heavy rains in October 2021 – 190 mm in 24 hours – also worsened the subsidence and vulnerability to landslides, it stated.
