Year-ender 2023: Sinking Joshimath hill town remains a ticking time bomb

The sinking of Joshimath town in Uttarakhand is not a new phenomenon but the problem aggravated in the last three years with hundreds of buildings developing cracks and even a stretch of the national highway showing wide fissures. Located on age-old glacial debris, Joshimath faces an intractable land subsidence problem with experts suggesting long-term solutions to save the hill town and its residents, writes ETV Bharat's Ahana Datta Chaudhury.

Joshimath (Uttarakhand) : Joshimath, located at the foothills of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, is sinking under its own weight due to a confluence of factors including unplanned construction, mushrooming of urban settlements and excess population. The land subsidence, marked by gradual displacement of sub-surface soil and rocks, has been blowing out of proportion in the last three years, forcing the relocation of the Joshimath residents. Environmental experts and reports termed the steps taken to deal with the situation in subsidence-hit Joshimath as ‘inadequate’.

Geographical Background: With a population of over 23,000, Joshimath is a hill town in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. It is situated at an elevation of 6,107 feet and serves as a gateway to many tourist spots, such as the global skiing destination Auli, Badrinath shrine, Hemkund Sahib, and the Valley of Flowers (a UNESCO World Heritage site) among others. At the strategic level, Joshimath gained importance during the 1962 India-China War when it was being used as a station by the Indian Army.

It is to be noted that the town is situated in a landslide-prone location. According to research by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA), the first recorded case of a landslide in this region was mentioned in the 1976 Mishra Commission report. As per the report by USDMA, the region is vulnerable to landslides because of the area's geographical nature- affluence of perennial streams, significant amounts of snowfall in the upper reaches, and severely worn gneissic rocks with poor cohesive qualities.

On October 17, 2021, Joshimath reported 190 mm of rainfall in a single day, severely weakening the landslip zone. Recent satellite data indicates that the impact of intense rainfall events has resulted in mountain streams changing their route, and widening their courses. This has resulted in the instability of slopes in the already vulnerable area.

Cause of Sinking: Inhabitants of the Gandhinagar and Sunil wards were the first to notice cracks in their houses in October 2021. Cracks started to show in the Ravigram ward by the middle of 2022. The USDMA released a report in September 2022 that primarily identified the town's poorly designed building as a major contributing factor to the land sinking. The report also noted that the issue had been worsened by insufficient wastewater disposal and drainage facilities. Environmental experts requested that the Himalayas be designated as an environmentally sensitive area at the earliest so that the surrounding areas can be preserved.

Experts also referred to the actions taken to address the situation in Joshimath, which has been impacted by subsidence, as "inadequate" in a resolution passed at the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) roundtable. The Char Dham railways project should be reevaluated and reexamined, the resolution mentioned. The road's width under the Char Dham road is expanding. Therefore, the project needs to be limited to an intermediate standard to reduce the harm to the environment. Chardham Railways is an overly ambitious project that will further harm the natural balance of Uttarakhand, a state heavily dependent on tourism, it stated.

The study also pointed to how the Joshimath region is highly susceptible to experiencing landslides in the future due to a combination of climatic, geomorphic, and eco-tectonic causes. Joshimath has experienced multiple earthquakes with a Richter scale value of less than 5 because of its location. Hydroelectric schemes around Joshimath and Tapovan, including the Vishnugad HE Project, have been approved despite full knowledge of the region's geological vulnerability, according to environmentalist and Supreme Court-appointed High Powered Committee (HPC) member Hemant Dhyani.

The earliest report examining Joshimath's land subsidence, the 1976 Mishra Committee report, cautioned against excavating the slopes and removing stones by digging or using explosives. "No attention was paid while undertaking works of road and dam construction in and around Joshimath," stated Atul Sati, an activist from the "Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti," who has been protesting the 520 MW Tapovan Vishnugad hydropower project being built by NTPC since 2004 with other locals. Although the sinking of Joshimath will result in a large number of people being displaced, the only way to find a solution is to rehabilitate the affected residents, the resolution said.

Impact on citizens: Hundreds of people who were impacted by this calamity joined hands on Joshimath's streets to participate in a protest demonstration to salvage the collapsing village. The purpose of the rally, according to the Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, was to raise awareness of the need for impacted families to receive compensation and permanent rehabilitation. Experts and the USDMA identified causes for the rise in surface water seepage into the ground, which is likely the cause of subsidence. First, water has to find alternative drainage channels since natural water drainage systems have been obstructed by on-surface human activity. Second, there is no wastewater and sewage disposal infrastructure in Joshimath town.

"It is also noticed that due to robust and unplanned construction of high-rise hotels and buildings, there is an inadequate arrangement for sanitation, which makes Joshimath more unstable and burdened. Due to all this, today the entire area of Joshimath is sinking and there is no way we can save the same," the resolution stated. It is now vital to take into consideration that the ‘so-called development’ driven by human greed cannot be permitted to continue in light of the massive destruction that has occurred in the past. To address this issue, long-term solutions must be implemented comprehensively, one that saves and preserves both the natural habitat and human beings. Experts are not against the boom of the tourism industry. However, if we try to earn hefty amounts by harming the environment, we will have to face harsh consequences.

Read More

1. NDMA releases report over Joshimath land sinking