Nearly 200 people in the Himalayan town have been evacuated after houses developed cracks

Natalie Portman
By Natalie Portman 3 Min Read
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By Saurabh Sharma

LUCKNOW (RockedBuzz via Reuters) – Indian authorities have displaced nearly 200 people from their homes in the Himalayan town of Joshimath, an official said on Saturday, after hundreds of buildings in the area frequented by pilgrims and tourists developed cracks from shifting soil .

For years, experts have warned that large-scale construction work, including hydroelectric power projects, in and around Joshimath could lead to land subsidence – the sinking or settling of the ground surface.

In recent weeks, cracks have been reported in more than 600 homes in Joshimath, prompting local authorities to move some 193 residents to safer places, including hotels and guesthouses, government official Himanshu Khurana said.

“The evacuation process is ongoing and a team of scientists from different institutions have been trying to know the cause and how to contain the situation,” said Khurana, a district magistrate in Chamoli district, where Joshimath is located.

“The administration is helping those affected with whatever they need.”

A flash flood in February 2021 in the Chamoli district killed more than 200 people and wiped out two hydroelectric projects, alarming some scientists who study climate change and how it’s affecting the world’s tallest mountains.

A city of about 17,000 people in the northern state of Uttarakhand, Joshimath is a gateway for pilgrimages to Hindu and Sikh shrines, and is popular with tourists looking to trek parts of the Himalayas.

Atul Sati, the coordinator of the Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti which has protested the government’s inaction to stop the subsidence, said local residents have been reporting the issue for months.

“The administration woke up from its sleep when the situation started to worsen and now the relief efforts have begun,” Sati said, “Our city is sinking and we have to save it.”

Piyoosh Rautela, executive director of the Uttarakhand government’s Disaster Management and Mitigation Center, said the subsidence is likely the remnant of a breached aquifer, an underground layer of rock that holds water.

“The concerned authorities are working on it and the only way to contain the problem is to channel the flow of water,” Rautela told RockedBuzz via Reuters.

(Reporting by Saurabh Sharma, Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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