Tag: Joshimath

Joshimath town is now safe for people: Uttarakhand CM Dhami

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Dehradun: Joshimath is now safe and there is no fear in people’s minds, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Saturday as he flagged off the two-day Auli marathon from the subsidence-hit town.
The event is being organised in the temple town to send the message that Joshimath is safe.
Joshimath hit the headlines in January when huge cracks in houses, fields and roads caused by land subsidence forced people to vacate their homes and shift to relief centres.

More than 300 athletes from different states are taking part in the marathon being organised by the Uttarakhand Ski Mountaineering Association and the Sky Running Association.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony on the premises of the Narsingh and Nav Durga temple, Dhami said, “It is a matter of pride for us that a marathon of such a grand scale begins from Joshimath. We are trying to take several other measures to promote tourism in Uttarakhand.”
Everything is now safe in the town and there is no fear in the minds of people, he said.
“An atmosphere of fear about Joshimath was created in the initial days of the problem. But everything is normal here. The state government has taken positive steps to overcome the problem.
“As a result, more than 11.30 lakh people have already registered for the Char Dham Yatra, which begins on April 22,” the chief minister said.

It seems that the number of pilgrims this time will break the record influx seen last year, he added.
Around 46 lakh people visited Uttarakhand for the yatra last year.
“Auli and Joshimath are absolutely safe now and ready to welcome devotees coming for the annual pilgrimage. The marathon is held in Joshimath is proof of this,” Dhami said.
Athletes from Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, among others, are taking part in the sky running and the sky ultra race being organised as part of the two-day marathon.
Good compensation given to affected people: CM
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday said the compensation being given to the affected people in subsidence-hit Joshimath is the best one possible and they should avail of it as soon as possible.
“We have decided the best compensation for the affected people in Joshimath. Those who can avail of the compensation should do so soon,” Dhami said.
He said this while meeting the affected people in Joshimath.
For people who do not have their own piece of land, prefabricated houses have been built, the chief minister said.
He also undertook a spot inspection of the prefabricated houses being constructed on the Auli road.
Giving an update on relief operations underway at Joshimath, Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said 167 families have been kept in relief camps and compensation worth Rs 10.46 crore has been distributed among affected landowners.
Dhami was in Joshimath on Saturday to flag off the two-day Auli marathon to send the message of a safe Joshimath across the country.
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#Joshimath #town #safe #people #Uttarakhand #Dhami
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 8, 2023
Hotel owners ask Joshimath disaster-hit people to vacate rooms by March 31

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Joshimath: People, who were shifted to hotels by the administration after cracks developed in houses due to land subsidence in Joshimath of Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, have now been asked by hotel owners to vacate their hotel rooms by March 31.
The “ultimatum” by hotel owners has been issued in view of the forthcoming Yatra season for Chardham pilgrimage in the state.
The administration, however, has said that it has written to the government for extending the “deadline” for keeping the affected people in hotels. To which, the government is yet to respond.
In the first week of January, people were displaced in hotels, dharamshalas and rented houses after the land submergence increased in Joshimath. In hotels, the government is paying a rent of Rs 950 for a room. Those who are living in rented houses are being given five thousand rupees. There are 694 members of 181 families staying in various hotels, dharamshalas in Joshimath Municipality area. Arrangements have also been made for their food and drink
The government had made arrangements for the disaster-affected people to stay in hotels till March 31. As the last date nears, hotel owners have started asking the affected to vacate the rooms.
Hotel owner Govind Singh says that there are 10 rooms in his hotel. Two of these rooms have been given to the disaster-affected. The administration had asked to keep affected till March. Now they need rooms for the Chardham Yatra. Many times large groups of pilgrims come. In such a situation, if the disaster-affected people are kept here, they will not be able to provide rooms to the pilgrims.
Another hotel owner, Kuldeep, says that his hotel has six rooms, of which three have been given people affected by the disaster. “The government had said that Rs 950 will be given for a room per day, but no payment has been made so far.”
Kuldeep said that now the rooms will have to be vacated in view of the Chardham Yatra.

District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said: “Orders were received (from the state government) to shift the disaster-affected people to hotels till March 31. The government has been written to keep the affected in hotels till April 30.”
“Even after March 31, no disaster-affected person will be excluded from hotels. If a hotel owner is asking the affected people to leave the hotel, it will be investigated,” he asserted.
SDM Kumkum Joshi said: “We had permission till March 31 to accommodate the disaster-affected people in hotels. The government has been written to extend the period. Most of the hotels have been paid rent. However, due to non-completion of GST and other documentations of some home stays and hotels, the rent has not been paid.”
It has been almost three months since the subsidence hit Joshimath. But the suffering of the disaster-affected people continues to haunt them.
Meena Devi of Joshimath’s Singhdhar ward, who is living with her family in a hotel, says that her five-member family has been living in a room since January 13. “The hotel owner has asked to vacate the room by March 31. Rooms are not available on rent in the market. Now we will have to return to our cracked house,” she narrated.
Disaster-affected Ukha Devi, who is staying in the same hotel, says: “We are looking for a room on rent but we are not getting it in safe area. Rooms are full everywhere.”
Similarly, disaster victim Rama Devi says: “We found shelter in a dharamshala, but now, in view of Chardham Yatra, we are being asked to leave from here. I have two children. Husband has died. Initially, ration was provided for cooking, but now even that is not available. Even the health department team is not coming in the area.”
State Disaster Management Secretary, Ranjit Sinha, said: “Letter in this regard has not yet been received from the District Magistrate Chamoli. The decision will be taken in accordance to the suggestions made by the district administration.”
The government will take full care of both, the hoteliers as well as the disaster-affected people, he added.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 30, 2023
India can mitigate risks like Joshimath instead of embracing them

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By Feroze Varun Gandhi
On Dec 24, 2009, a tunnel boring machine drilling into the mountain on which Joshimath resides punctured an aquifer ~3km away from Selang village – this resulted in water being discharged at ~700-800 litres per second (enough to sustain the needs of 20-30 lakh people per day) (Upadhyay, Kavita, Jan 2023). Soon after, groundwater sources in Joshimath started drying up – over time, the discharge reduced but never stopped. Meanwhile, Joshimath, built on a mountain slope with deposits from a landslide, has no system to manage wastewater. Instead, most buildings use a soak-pit mechanism, which leads to sewage entering the ground and potentially exacerbating land sinking. In addition, ongoing infrastructure projects (e.g. the Tapovan Vishnugad dam, Helang-Marwari bypass road) may have exacerbated the situation (Upadhyay, Kavita, Jan 2023). This irreversible loss is a harbinger of worse to come.
Sadly, land subsidence incidents in hilly urban India are increasingly common. ~12.6% of India’s land area is prone to landslides, with some of this falling in hilly urban regions of Sikkim, West Bengal, Uttarakhand etc. Urban policy makes this worse – as per the National Institute for Disaster Management (and in the National Landslide Risk Management Strategy, Sep 2019), construction in such landscapes is often driven by building byelaws that ignore local geological and environmental factors (Moudgil, Manu, Oct 2020). Consequently, land use planning in Himalayan towns and the Western Ghats is often ill-conceived when planned, and primarily unplanned – all adding up to slope instability. As a result, landslide vulnerability has risen, exacerbated by tunnelling construction that weakens rock formations.
A first step towards enhancing urban resilience with regard to land subsidence requires credible data. We need to map landslide risk at a granular level. The Geological Survey of India has conducted a national mapping exercise (at a 1:50,000 scale, with each cm denoting ~0.5km). Urban policymakers need to take this further, with additional detail and localization (e.g. at a 1:1000 scale) (Moudgil, Manu, Oct 2020). Areas with high landslide risk should not be allowed to expand large infrastructure, with a push to reduce human interventions and adhere to carrying capacity. Select examples show the way – Aizawl, in Mizoram, is in Seismic Zone V, and is built on very steep slopes – an earthquake with a magnitude greater than 7 would easily trigger over 1,000 landslides, collapsing 13,000 buildings (Moudgil, Manu, Oct 2020). The city has prepared by developing a landslide action plan (with a push to reach 1:500 scale), and updated regulations to guide construction activities in hazardous zones. The city’s landslide policy committee is cross-disciplinary in nature, and seeks inputs from civic society and university students, with a push to continually update risk zones.
Furthermore, any site development in hazardous zones requires assessment by a geologist (w.r.t soil suitability and slope stability) and an evaluation of the potential impact on nearby buildings. Corrective measures (e.g. retention walls) are then required, with a push to prohibit construction in hazardous areas. In Gangtok, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has helped set up a real-time landslide monitoring and early warning system, with multiple sensors highlighting the impact of rainfall infiltration, water movement and slope instability (Moudgil, Manu, Oct 2020).
Beyond land subsidence, flood risk is also becoming frequent. In August 2019, the township of Palava City (Phase I and II) in Dombivli in Maharashtra was flooded, with ~5 ft water depth in much of Phase I – incessant rain led to vehicles being submerged and electricity connections being switched off (Gupta, Pradeep, Aug 2019). Residents were stranded in their flats until the water was drained out using pumps. While seasonal downpours have increased in intensity, the impact of seasonal flooding was worsened by a simple fact – the township, spread over 4,500 acres, was built on the flood plains of the river Mothali! When planned townships are approved, with a distinct lack of concern for natural hazards, such incidents are bound to occur. Such tales are awfully familiar – Panjim was hit by floods in July 2021 – incessant rains led to local rivers swelling up and flooding homes, with urban settlements along the Mandovi affected in particular (Lobo, Aaron Savio, Bhandari, Ashali, Kuppu, Karthikeyan, Mar 2022). Again, urban planning had a role to play – the city, built on the marshlands that lie astride on the floodplains of the river Mandovi, was once fringed by mangroves and fertile fields, which helped bolster its flood resilience.
Meanwhile, other cities continue to face a high risk of flooding in the near future – in Delhi, there are ~9,350 households living in Yamuna floodplains (Hargovind, Abhinaya, Mar 2022). IPCC’s report (in March 2022) highlighted that Kolkata faced a significant risk of subsidence due to a rise in sea levels and flooding. Poor urban planning, combined with climate change, will mean that our cities will be perennially flooded.
Flood-proofing our cities will require measures on various axes – urban planners will have to temper the push to fill up local water bodies, canals and drains and focus on enhancing sewerage and the stormwater drain network. Existing sewerage networks need to be expanded, in coverage and depth, to enable wastewater in low-lying urban geographies to drain away. Additionally, there needs to be a push to desilt rivers that frequently overflow, along with a push for coastal walls in areas at risk from sea rise. Beyond this, greater spending on building flood-resilient architecture (e.g. constructing river embankments, constructing flood shelters in coastal areas), along with flood warning systems, is necessary (Parida, Yashobanta, Bharadwaj, Parul, Sahoo, Prakash Kumar, Aug 2022). In addition, there needs to be a push for protecting “blue infra” areas – i.e. places that act as natural sponges for absorbing surface runoff, allowing groundwater to be recharged. As rainfall patterns and intensity change, urban authorities will need to invest in simulation capacity to determine flooding hotspots and flood risk maps, along with integrating relief efforts (Prakash, Anjal, Goswami, Aishani, Aug 2020).

Urban India doesn’t have to embrace such risks. We can mitigate them – if our cities proactively incorporate environmental planning, with a push for enhancing natural open spaces. Urban master plans need to consider the impact of climate change and extreme weather (e.g. planning for ~125 mm per hour peak rainfall in Bengaluru in the future, vs 75 mm currently; Shakeel, Shobhan, Nov 2022). Urban authorities in India should continually assess and update disaster risk and preparedness planning. Early warning systems will also be critical (Rajshekhar, M., Jan 2021). Finally, each city needs to have a disaster management framework in place, with a push for having large arterial roads that allow people and goods to move in and out of the city at pace. Our urban journey is not limited to an election cycle – we must plan for a multi-generational process.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 17, 2023
Uttarakhand Cabinet approves compensation, rehabilitation policy for people in Joshimath

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Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval to a policy for compensation and permanent rehabilitation of the affected families and people in land subsidence-hit Joshimath.
It approved a one-time financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to people who were running shops or businesses in rented accommodations rendered unsafe by the disaster.
The approval to the proposed policy was given at a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Chief Secretary S S Sandhu told reporters.
The cabinet also approved the State Millet Mission, which will facilitate distribution of one kilogram of millet to each family through the Public Distribution System under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana and serving of Jhangora and Manduwa (a type of millet) in mid-day meal at schools, Sandhu said.
A total of 52 decisions were taken by the cabinet including approval to a strict anti-copying law brought through an ordinance, increasing the retirement age for Ayurvedic college principals from 60 to 65 years and appointment of 285 special teachers for children with special needs, he said at the cabinet briefing.
Giving details of the policy for the compensation and permanent rehabilitation of the affected people in Joshimath, Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha said the rate of compensation for uninhabitable residential and commercial buildings has been decided but the rate of land compensation will be decided after the technical institutions conducting a study of the subsidence issue submit their reports.
The rate of compensation for residential buildings will be calculated after ascertaining the cost of a particular house by adding the CPWD’s plinth area rates and the cost index, he said.
The final cost of the house will be calculated after subtracting depreciation amount of the affected house from the total and paid as compensation to the affected families, Sinha said.

According to the second option offered by the state government, an affected person can take the compensation amount for his or her damaged house as well as a piece of land up to 75 square metres (50 square metres for constructing a house and 25 square metres for a cowshed or other purposes), he said.
The third option for the affected people is to demand a ready-made house in return for their affected house and land, Sinha said. The state government will offer them houses built over an area of 50 square metres and give them an additional 25 square metres of land for a cowshed or other purposes, he added.
Five damage slabs have been created for giving compensation to shops and commercial establishments like hotels and dhabas. Compensation to affected people in this category will be decided on the basis of these damage slabs, the Disaster Management secretary said.
He said owners of damaged shops and commercial establishments like hotels and dhabas can claim compensation for them at a fixed rate.
They can also claim compensation for their land when the technical study report is submitted and their rate is decided, Sinha said.
If the affected people in this category take compensation for their building and also demand land, a maximum of 15 square metres of land can be provided to them for building their shops and business establishments, he added.
A one-time financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh will be given to people who were running shops or businesses in rented accommodations rendered unsafe by the disaster, thus hitting their livelihoods, Sinha said.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 16, 2023
Joshimath sinking: Mental health issues add to trauma of displaced

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New Delhi: Insomnia, anxiety, depression and crippling uncertainty about the future. As days pass into weeks and the cracks in their town widen and deepen, hundreds of people displaced by land subsidence in Joshimath and forced into relief camps are battling a range of mental health problems, say residents and experts.
With no end in sight to the crisis, hundreds of others in Uttarakhand’s fragile mountain town still lucky enough to be at home are frantic with worry about when not if they too will have to move into government-run shelters, hotels or just leave town.
“The land subsidence event last month has had an impact on everyone. The major symptoms among affected people are insomnia and anxiety,” Dr Jyotsana Naithwal, a psychiatrist from AIIMS Rishikesh deployed at the community health centre (CHC) in Joshimath, told PTI in a phone interview.
She is part of the team of three trained psychiatrists and one clinical psychologist deployed in the town of over 20,000 people to help people battle mental trauma.
Naithwal’s own home in Singhdhar area has developed cracks and she has been living in a hotel with her family.
Studies have found natural tragedies such as landslides, earthquakes and floods are traumatic and may result in a wide range of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Effective screening and awareness programmes among survivors should be strengthened for the prevention and treatment of psychiatric morbidity among the survivors of landslides, said experts.
According to Atul Sati, convenor of the Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (JBSS), fewer people are coming forward to report their problems because mental health is still a taboo topic.

“We had been warning that an epidemic of mental health is on its way. Many people our volunteers have been in touch with are facing trauma and mental issues,” Sati told PTI.
Being forced to part from their damaged homes and the fear that they may never be able to return to their childhood homes is leading to a spectrum of problems.
Ask 19-year-old Neha Saklani.
On February 3, just a month after Neha and her extended family of 14 people shifted to a hotel, her father got an anxious call that their house had been razed to the ground.
“All of us rushed to the spot and found it still intact. But the call only compounded the already anxious lives that we have been living ever since our house started developing cracks almost a year ago,” Neha told PTI.
The Saklani family, which lived in the Sunil area on the way to the famous skiing resort Auli, said it was the first to report land subsidence in Joshimath when their house developed cracks in May last year.
Neha’s mother recently underwent a surgical procedure at a local clinic, and the family doesn’t know how she can recuperate in their cramped hotel room.
“We keep thinking about our house. Imagine the trauma of living in a sinking house for a year. It is horrifying,” she said.
“Initially, I was not able to sleep. Even now I sometimes feel low and anxious. My sister is not in a position to continue her studies. She wanted to join college this year. I guess that will have to wait,” she told PTI.
That businesses have shut down in the town has added to the extreme anxiety about what tomorrow will bring.
Suraj Kapruwan had a laundry shop in Manohar Van, which was heavily damaged during the January 2 subsidence event. He said he hasn’t had a full night’s sleep since.
“I am depressed and hardly get any sleep at night. I keep thinking about my business on which I spent lakhs. There is no compensation still in sight. I don’t know how to cope with the situation,” the 38-year-old hotel management graduate told PTI.
Naithwal added that gauging the burden of mental illness is difficult as people don’t report symptoms to medical practitioners unlike other health disorders and symptoms can surface anytime up to a year.
“We have been doing rounds of the affected areas. If someone exhibits symptoms, a counsellor helps them to cope through relaxation techniques and deep breathing exercises,” she told PTI.
“If somebody has chronic symptoms, they are treated accordingly,” the 32-year-old doctor said.
According to Sati, the situation will only get worse if the authorities don’t act faster and come up with a proper and prompt rehabilitation plan for the people of Joshimath.
In his view, the overall situation in Joshimath has only gotten worse in the last month.
“Cracks in more houses have been reported recently. The fissures in the land around the danger zone have only gotten bigger,” he added.
The number of structures, according to the government, which have developed cracks so far stands at 868, an increase since January 20, when the number was 863, Sati said.
Authorities estimate that present 878 members of 243 disaster-affected families are in relief camps.
“Basic facilities like food, drinking water, medicine etc. are being made available to the affected people in the relief camps,” according to the Twitter handle of DM Chamoli.
“In Joshimath, an amount of Rs 505.80 lakh has been distributed so far for damaged buildings, special rehabilitation package, one-time special grant for transportation of goods and immediate needs and purchase of household materials as advance relief to the affected families,” another tweet on Thursday said.
However, Sati alleged there are serious discrepancies in the official survey of damages and compensation.
“Many people who deserved compensation didn’t receive it while others who were not affected got it instead,” he added.
“Joshimath is not suitable for a township”, the government appointed Mishra Committee report had warned in 1976 and recommended a ban on heavy construction work in the area.
The warning was not heeded. Over the decades, the place exploded into a busy gateway for thousands of pilgrims and tourists.
Joshimath is a gateway to several Himalayan mountain climbing expeditions, trekking trails, and pilgrim centres like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, and the Valley of Flowers, a UNESCO world heritage site.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 10, 2023
Issues related to Joshimath sinking before HC: Uttarakhand govt to Delhi HC

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New Delhi: Issues related to the sinking of Joshimath are being looked into by the high court in Uttarakhand following an order of the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court was informed on Tuesday.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma was hearing a petition by lawyer Rohit Dandriyal seeking to direct the Centre to constitute a committee headed by a retired judge to look into the matter and rehabilitate the affected families soon.
The petitioner’s “prayers have already been met”, counsel for the Uttarakhand government told a bench, also comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad.
“There are two things. He (petitioner) is asking for a high-powered committee and rehabilitation. Both the issues, the Supreme Court has sent to Uttarakhand. All that is now before the Uttarakhand High Court,” he said.
The plea was subsequently withdrawn by the petitioner from the high court.
Last month, the Uttarakhand government told the bench that authorities were rehabilitating the affected families of Joshimath and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as well as the SDRF have also been deployed in the area. It also claimed that a rehabilitation package was being prepared and a lot of relief work was going on.
Joshimath, the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib and international skiing destination Auli, is sinking gradually with huge cracks developing in houses, roads and fields there. Many houses have suffered subsidence, locals said.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had earlier ordered immediate evacuation of 600 families living in houses at risk.

Highlighting the problems of over 3,000 people in the town, Dandriya’s plea claimed that cracks have been developed in at least 570 houses due to continued land subsidence.
It said construction activities done by the Ministries of Road Transport and Highways and Power, New and Renewable Energy in past years have worked as catalyst in the present scenario and have violated the fundament rights of residents in the town.
On January 16, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea seeking to declare the crisis in subsidence-hit Joshimath a national disaster, saying the state high court is seized of a “broad range of issues” and should hear it as a matter of principle.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 7, 2023
Inadequate steps in Joshimath; declare Himalayas eco-sensitive zone: Experts

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New Delhi: Unplanned and uncontrolled construction in the name of development in Uttarakhand has brought Joshimath on the brink of sinking, experts said here, demanding that the Himalayas be declared an eco-sensitive zone.
In a resolution passed at a roundtable organised by the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) on Saturday, experts termed as “inadequate” the steps taken to deal with the prevailing situation in subsidence-hit Joshimath.
They also asked the government to consider taking long-term measures to address the problem, saying a similar situation may arise in Nainital, Mussoorie and other areas of Garhwal as well if the “so-called development driven by human greed” is not checked in the hill state.
“Declare Himalayas as an eco-sensitive zone. Regulate big projects causing devastation,” the resolution said.
While the width of the road under the Char Dham road widening project must be regulated to an intermediate standard to minimize the damage to the terrain, the Char Dham railways project should be reassessed, it added.
“Chardham railways is an over ambitious project that will cause much devastation and will further overburden the tourist centric state of Uttarakhand. This project should be reassessed and re-looked at,” the resolution said.
A detailed carrying capacity assessment of Uttarakhand should be done to ensure that the number of tourists visiting these places is accounted for and also to ensure that the tourist flow does not cause environmental overburdening, it added.
The roundtable, organised to deliberate on the topic ‘Imminent Himalayan Crisis’, was attended by former chairperson of a Supreme Court-appointed committee on the Centre’s Char Dham project Ravi Chopra, its former member Hemant Dhyani and others, SJM co-convenor Awshwani Mahajan told PTI.

“Sri Adi Shankaracharya founded the city where the holy Jyotirlinga is located in the eighth century, which is known as Joshimath (Jyotir Math). Today, this math is at the brink of collapse. The news of the sinking of Joshimath has shaken the whole country,” Mahajan said.
“Even though some steps have been taken in view of the current crisis, experts believe that the sinking of this first Jyotir Math established by Adi Shankaracharya cannot be stopped,” he added.
Terming the steps taken by the government to deal with the prevailing situation “inadequate”, the resolution noted that while on one hand a large number of people are going to be displaced due to the sinking of Joshimath, on the other, the solution is being sought only by way of rehabilitation of affected residents.
“Currently work on the mega projects in this area – the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) hydropower project, Helang bypass road construction which is part of Chardham road widening project and ropeways project, has been stopped by the district administration succumbing to the local protests,” it noted.
It can be seen that areas such as Bhagirathi ESZ, where large scale mega projects have not been implemented and the local ecology has not been tampered with, land subsidence, landslide incidents and devastating disaster events are minimum to none, it underlined.
“This is proof enough that the indiscriminate, unplanned robust construction everywhere else in Uttarakhand has directly or indirectly impacted and aggravated the disaster like situation,” it added.
It is worth mentioning that the way the mountain was cut at the foothills of Joshimath for the construction of Chardham Marg and how without a proper hydrogeological study, the NTPC dug a tunnel in the middle of the mountain, this fragile mountain was destroyed,” the resolution noted.
“It is also noticed that due to robust and unplanned construction of high-rise hotels and buildings, there is inadequate arrangement for sanitation, which makes Joshimath more unstable and burdened,” it said.
“Due to all this, today the entire area of Joshimath is sinking and there is no way we can save it,” it added.
In the name of development, the resolution noted, construction work and tampering with nature is going on continuously all over Uttarakhand.
Due to the massive deforestation, there is hardly any greenery left on the mountains; and due to this, landslides have become a common feature in these youngest fold mountains, it claimed.
“Disastrous construction in the name of development without assessing the expected impact is becoming the cause of today’s and earlier tragedies. This crisis can be avoided only by curbing this indiscriminate construction,” the resolution said.
“In view of this type of rapid destruction in the past, it has become necessary to consider that the so-called development driven by human greed cannot be allowed to continue. It is necessary that long-term measures are taken to deal with this problem,” it demanded.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023
Joshimath crisis: Badrinath National Highway develops cracks

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Joshimath: Cracks of one to two metre long have devloped on the Badrinath National Highway in Joshimath, which is the only road that leads to Badrinath, a place of faith for millions of Hindus.
Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Sinha said that the administration has been keeping a close watch on the land subsidence of the highway.
Sinha stated that the concerned agencies have been instructed to repair the road. He said it would be completely repaired before the Char Dham yatra.
Repairing the road before the yatra would pose as a big challenge for the government.
Significantly, the number of structures that have developed cracks in the holy city has increased to 863.
In view of the cracks, along with the obstruction of the road to Badrinath Dham, the contact of the Indian Army with the China border may also be cut off.
Geologist Prof M.P.S. Bisht, after visiting the area, said that the pattern of the cracks is parallel.
Apart from this, sinking of the huge stones on the side of the road is also becoming a casue of concern for the government.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023
Joshimath crisis: Pets and cattle displaced as owners navigate subsidence fallout

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Joshimath: As land sinks in Joshimath, buildings are razed and hundreds of families are forced out of their homes, there is another tragedy playing out in this Himalayan town many dogs, cattle, and other domestic animals are left untended as their owners navigate the life-changing crisis.
Some animals have been left behind in houses, desolate and deserted as the cracks on their walls deepen, and some smaller pets have been crammed into shelter homes along with families forced into one room. The snow and the dipping temperatures have exacerbated the many woes.
The displacement is at many levels, say animal rights activists who have rushed to the once bustling town of Joshimath to keep the voiceless safe.
“Any disaster is as much a crisis for animals as it is for humans,” said Rubina Iyer from People for Animals (PFA) Uttarakhand.
“We want to ensure the safety and welfare of the animals. People are taking care of humans, and we are here for the animals,” Iyer, who traveled from Dehradun to Joshimath along with her colleagues to help rescue affected animals, told PTI.
The mountain town, the gateway to trekking trails, pilgrimage destinations such as Badrinath and the famed ski slopes of Auli, has been on the edge since January 2 when the first major land subsidence event took place and hairline fissures in several places deepened into gaping breaks in walls and streets with a frightening rumble.
Families were segregated, and many pets and cattle were neglected as people moved out to safety.
Neha Saklani, whose house in the Sunil area on the way to Auli was heavily damaged during the subsidence event, said they have four pets.

“One of them is with us in the hotel, while the three others are at our house. But we check on them in the day and feed them,” she said.
Iyer said surveys are being carried out for a count of pets or stray animals and, if required, help with shifting them to shelter homes.
“If there are any pets and people don’t have space we can keep them safe.”
So far, 200 dogs, 300 cattle, and 20 equines have been identified in surveys from the affected areas, said Shreya Paropkari from Humane Society International/India (HSI).
“All are doing well except for two injured mules being shifted to the Happy Home Sanctuary run by PFA Uttarakhand in Dehradun,” she told PTI
“Our surveys found no abandoned pets in the affected areas. Wherever people are being shifted they are taking their pets along,” Paropkari said.
HSI also plans to sterilize dogs so there are no puppies born during this calamity as it will be difficult for them to survive.
“Based on the current assessment, they would all need surgery – when the weather is suitable. Currently, it’s snowing,” Paropkari added.
Chief Veterinary Officer, Chamoli, D. Pralayankar Nath said the Animal Husbandry Department here is taking all precautions and making necessary arrangements to shelter stray animals and pets.
“For cattle, we are making two shelters in Sunil ward and in Ravigram area. We are distributing compact feed and green fodder. Pets are being provided feed and the necessary help,” said Nath, who has been stationed in Joshimath since January 2.
“We are taking help from the NGOs to identify any affected or abandoned pets so that we can shift them to shelters and take care of them,” he said.
In her three-day tour of Joshimath, Kaveri Rana Bhardwaj from Sophie Memorial Animal Relief Trust (S.M.A.R.T Sanctuary) has fed many street animals in Joshimath, Auli road, and the upper reaches.
A helpline number has been set up in case someone needs a home for their dogs, Bharadwaj said.
Sometimes, animals require urgent medical attention too.
The group, for instance, found a small local breed dog with a twisted leg that needed to be X-rayed.
There are many stray dogs in Joshmath that can easily be mistaken for abandoned canines, Iyer said.
“We found equines and a lot of stray animals because sometimes if they are ill or become unproductive or for that matter are injured, people do sometimes abandon them in the streets to die,” said Iyer.
Iyer said since authorities are planning to rehabilitate displaced people, their pets will also be taken along with the owners to new locations.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023