Joshimath is an ancient Uttarakhand town where religious reformer Adi Shankaracharya attained enlightenment in the eighth century . This town has become a cause of concern. The residents of Joshimath blocked the Badrinath highway on Thursday . The people had been battling with ominous cracks that appeared in their houses ,agricultural fields and roads.
These happenings in Joshimath are a second hit to the hill state because it is already facing a chaos in Haldwani over eviction notices.
On the midnight, On Monday, people started to hear sounds from under the surface in the grounds. In fear of any tragedy, the houses were evacuated to safe locations. The citizens were already petitioning the government to stop the construction work. The people , on Wednesday evening, came out on streets with their torches to protest.
There is a fear that the hillside on which the town is situated is going to collapse since it is located in an old landslide. The Uttarakhand government has formed a team of scientist to research upon the reasons of why the cracks have been occurring. The team will investigate the matters.
A news agency stated that reportedly, the cracks have been developed in as many as 561 houses. ” Now the process of increasing cracks in Singhdar and Marwadi has started . Badrinath NH near Singhdhar Jain locality and JP company gate in Marwadi, near the forest department check post , is continuously cracking . This crack is increasing every hour which is worrying .” Stated Shailendra Pawar , Joshimath municipal chairman.
The cracks first started appearing in the news in 2021 when the catastrophic landslide in Chamoli triggered several landslides. Then, the residents started using some wooden poles to provide support to their homes.
Next Warning in 2022
In the report in last year, scientists had warned that Joshimath will sink unless the excavation work for various developmental activities is not stopped immediately.
They further added” Widening of the 20 km stretch between Helong and Marwari of the all weather Char Dham road should only be carried out after state of the art slope treatment .”
