Dehradun, April 23
Nearly four months since Joshimath made headlines as the “sinking town”, the gateway to Himalayan pilgrimage sites is yet to see enough curative steps that address the land subsidence issue, environmental experts have said.
People in unsafe zones have been moved to safety, cracks in the roads filled and unsafe buildings demolished but environmentalists feel long-term measures to save the town from further damage are yet to be initiated.
More than 100 days have passed since the crisis started in early January but cracks have still not stopped appearing in the hill town, which is situated on old landslide rubble.
The cracks that appeared in buildings, roads and public facilities in Joshimath have not widened further of late but sporadic appearances of newer ones leave no room for complacency, said locals.
Atul Sati, the convenor of the Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, told PTI, “Cracks are still appearing here and there.”
Sati was the first to raise the issue of land subsidence in the town.
During this pilgrimage season, which started with the opening Yamunotri and Gangotri temples on Saturday, the state government expects a record-breaking influx of devotees in Joshimath.
The locals fear that the huge influx of pilgrims would further increase the pressure on the hill town.
The pilgrimages to Badrinath and the Sikh shrine of Hemkund Sahib begin on April 27 and May 20, respectively.
Joshimath Municipality Chairman Shailendra Panwar noted that there was a marked improvement in the conditions.
The people are safe in the relief camps, unsafe hotels and rest houses demolished, buildings in danger zones vacated and the distribution of compensation among the affected people is underway. However, the danger continues to persist, he said.
Prefabricated 2-BHK houses have been built in Dhak for people living in temporary relief camps but they do not seem interested to move there, Panwar added.
The two major reasons for this are the lack of basic facilities in these houses and their location about 10 kilometres from Joshimath, the Joshimath Municipality chairman said.
“How can people go so far from their lands, leaving their livestock behind?” Panwar asked.
Forty-eight affected families received a cumulative compensation of Rs 11.69 crore as part of a rehabilitation package by April 20 and the process is still underway but the kind of urgency with which long-term steps should have been taken to save the town from further subsidence is not visible on the ground, experts said.
Saving Joshimath is not being accorded the kind of priority it deserves, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, the pioneer of the Chipko movement, told
