6th January 2023 (6 Topics)
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Uttarakhand’s Joshimath town is ‘sinking’
Context
Joshimath, the ancient Uttarakhand town has become a cause of concern. Though the town of Joshimath has been witnessing cracks emerging for the past two decades, things have escalated over the past few days.
How citizens are reacting?
- Citizens are in an uproar, cracks have appeared in homes, families have been evacuated, hotels shuttered and the ropeway service halted.
The location
- Located at a height of 6,000 feet in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, the town on the route to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib falls in high-risk seismic ‘Zone-V’.
- It is located on the top of Main Central Thrust (MCT) line.
- The geography of entire state of Uttarakhand is fragile. And, Joshimath in particular is situated on old land deposits.
- So, there is always a risk of landslide in Joshimath. Due to this, every year, people of Joshimath notice cracks in their buildings and fields.
- The Jyotirmath Hindu monastery, one of the most important sites in Hinduism, is here.
- It also has nearby one of the closest military stations to the border with China.
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Main Central Thrust (MCT) line
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Who is responsible?
The crisis in Joshimath is both natural and man made
- Ground subsidence — a gradual settling or sudden sinking of the earth’s surface due to removal or displacement of subsurface materials — has induced structural defects and damage observed in almost all wards of Joshimath.
- Tunnelling and slope cutting
- Tapovan-Vishnugad hydro projectand ongoing construction of Helang bypass are considered to be one of the main reasons for subsidence.
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The Mishra Committee report of 1976 as saying that “Joshimath lies on an ancient landslide” and that heavy construction work ought to be barred. |
Suggestive measures
- Further construction in the area should be made only after examining the stability of the site, and restrictions should be placed on the excavation on slopes.
- No boulders should be removed either by digging or blasting and no tree should be cut in the landslide zone.
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