Nainital: Union Minister of State for Defense Ajay Bhatt reiterated the possibility of a Joshimath-like disaster on the verge of breaking out in the city of Nainital during his visit there on Friday. He reassured that the government is serious about preventing landslides in Nainital and is also paying close attention to the cracks that are appearing on land in some areas of the city.
Bhatt, while on his visit to Nainital, held a review meeting with all the departmental officers of the district regarding landslides in sensitive and hypersensitive areas of the city. He highlighted the cracks appearing at the Lower Mall Road of Nainital for the past several years as an alarming issue and sought measures to work on it. The officials were also instructed to prepare an action plan regarding the permanent treatment of landslide-affected areas.
He further spoke about preserving the historical bed stand and the cracks coming in the surrounding area. During the meeting, the departmental officers were instructed to take the immediate necessary action by conducting a terrestrial inspection, even as Bhatt reassured that the central government is conducting a study of the landslide-affected area in Joshimath, which will also help to speculate the reasons and possible measures to deal with a similar situation in Nainital. Work will be done in the area on the basis of the earlier survey and new study by the scientists, Bhatt said.
He highlighted that the hills in the Himalayan region, along with Joshimath, have become extremely weak. "That is why such calamities have become rampant in the mountains. It is very important to balance environmental development while we are focusing on the infrastructural development f cities in the mountain regions," he said.
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Speaking about the Joshimath situation, Bhatt said that the central and the state government of Uttarakhand are doing their best to keep every citizen of Joshimath safe. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking every moment's information about the landslide incident happening in Joshimath. He is also keeping an eye on the long-standing landslides in Nainital's Ballia Nala and China Peak hill. We are on our way to devising an action plan to tackle the problem in Nainital as well. The problem will soon be inspected systematically," he said.
In one of the strangest phenomena, the holy town of Joshimath nestled in the hills of Chamoli at a height of 6,000 ft, houses started developing cracks and damages since 2021, leaving residents anxious and worried. Since the first reports of the cracks in 2021 after landslides in Chamoli, over 570 houses have sustained damages or cracks as residents experienced seismic tremors repeatedly in the subsequent years. Since 7 February 2021, the area was severely affected by the 2021 Uttarakhand flood and its aftermath.
