Uttarakhand’s Joshimath Town Sinking Due to Shifting of Soil, Evacuation of People Underway

Uttarakhand’s Joshimath town is ‘sinking’ as hundreds of houses, buildings and roads in this Himalayan town have developed huge cracks. As the cracks in nearly 600 dwellings, roads and fields are widening, the water is gushing out of it sending the people into panic with most of them abandoning their properties.

To make matters worse, several landslides have also been reported in the region. A huge stretch of Badrinath National Highway is also in the grip of landslides. The geologists have been warning the government against the dangers of large-scale construction work in the region as it could lead to land subsidence or shifting of soil. 

According to the Chamoli district administration’s statement, over 500 establishments have reported cracks in its structures. Dozens of families, who were forced to abandon their houses, blocked the Badrinath highway and raised their voice. 

A team from NIH, IIT Roorkee, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, State Disaster Management, GSI lead by Secretary Disaster Management, Uttarakhand visited #joshimath for survey of ground subsidence and water samples were collected by National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) pic.twitter.com/NMDZSFrqR4

— National Institute of Hydrology (@NIH_Hydrology) January 7, 2023

Taking swift action on the serious development in the Himalayan foothills region, disaster management authorities have evacuated nearly 200 people. Sources said land subsidence started more than a year ago but the problem has aggravated during the last two weeks. Meanwhile, the district administration has stopped the construction work in Joshimath until further orders. 

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