Joshimath: India's Town Near China Border is Sinking

 

JOSHIMATH: Sinking, Declared "unsafe" for living

Prominent cracks seen in houses of residents 

The Origin Story 

Joshimath, also known as Jyotirmath is a city and a Municipal Board in the Chamoli district, in the Indian State of Uttarakhand. Located at a height of 1875 m. It is a gateway to several Himalayan mountains, climbing, expeditions, trekking and pilgrim centres like Badrinath, Kedarnath, etc. It has got a historic significance as the great Adi Shankaracharya used Joshimath as a meditation Centre. 

Citizens are stuck in the atmosphere of gloom, they believe themselves to be 

Staring at uncertain future

 

RECENT NEWS:- 

©ThoughtsOut 

The recent news is that ‘Joshimath is sinking’. Joshimath is the inhabitant of around 1675 people. The people of Joshimath have recently seen cracks in their houses as well as in their cemented Courtyard. People believe that this place can sink at any time so people living there are at risk. MHA has been very carefully watching the process and the progress of evacuation is full fledged. 

 As per the report, 60 people are being evacuated and shifted elsewhere. 

Probable Reasons:- 

1. As per religious beliefs, Joshimath should never be overfilled with people. But with modernisation and Industrial Revolution, people have overcrowded remote hills. A probable reason can be that people are accessing the groundwater in great quantity so as a result, the sediment below the houses are collapsing which resulted in sinking. 

2. Another reason is that Joshimath is located not very far away from the hydropower plant project of NTPC in the state of Uttarakhand. The hydropower plant projects require storing water for a very long period of time. The long-standing water slowly weakens the soil. As a result, the land starts collapsing. But the NTPC has clearly said that they have no role in the sinking of Joshimath. 

Authorities strikes down: Ban on tunnel progress

3. Another highway project by the Indian Government on NH7 to make it wider has resulted in large-scale deforestation near the Joshimath areas. Joshimath connects many important places of Hindu pilgrims like Rishikesh, Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Chamoli, and Badrinath with Dehradun. Joshimath serves as a resting place for tourists which results in overcrowding. 

  

Cracks in Shivling of Shankaracharya Madhav Ashram Temple

However, the clear reason for the land subsidence is not known yet. People of Uttarakhand have written to CM and DM for looking into the matter urgently. As per the report, the PM is also looking into the matter as a serious need. A petition has been filed in the HIGH COURT OF NEW DELHI to set up a team which would investigate the cause of concern. 

The Garhwal commissioner said that—

"Land subsidence has been going on slowly in Joshimath for quite some time but it has increased over the past week with huge cracks appearing in houses, fields and roads," 

2021 News about JOSHIMATH 

There had been flooding in Joshimath in the year 2021 which led to the death of labourers and inhabitants. The reason for such death is lake outburst. Northern Joshimath has snow-capped mountains with glaciers and bigger lakes. When large glacier falls into lakes suddenly due to overweight or high temperature, it leads to spillage of water from lakes into rivers which originates from the lake itself. This river then brings flood in the areas surrounding Joshimath.

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