Tragedy has impacted ecologically fragile mountains of Uttarakhand again. It appears so far more on account of man made reasons than due to the phenomenon of climate change. As per information coming forward, the very existence of Joshimath , having a population of 20,000, at an altitude of 6100 feet , is going to be shaky. It is supposed to have grown on land consisting mostly of debris.
2) In 1960 ,the town falling on main route to Badrinath, Hemkunt Sahib and Auli Winter sports facility had barely thirty shops and four hundred families. Development was needed with the passage of time but not at the cost of degradation of environment. Urban development together with road constructions right upto international borders is reported to have picked up after war with China in 1962.Building of multi storey structures added to the pressure on land. Development beyond carrying capacity of a place leads always to doubts and uncertainties in future, but same was not realised.
UNPLANNED DEVELOPMENT BOOMERANGS
3) Unplanned development over the years not only increased the pressure on land , sewerage system too was never developed. Religious and tourist traffic slowly increased.Three mega projects ,namely Tapovan Vishnugad hydel project of NTPC, Char Dham Road project and Helang Bye Pass road seem to have added to the crisis of the region which was susceptible already to earth quakes, land slide and soil erosion.
If report about blasting of mountain for making tunnel is true ,same was definitely avoidable in view of availability of many modern tunnel boring machines nowadays.
HAPPENINGS OF PAST & PRESENT
4) People busy in fiddling with nature do not appear to have learnt any lesson from massive floods in June 2013 and in the months of February and October, 2021. In 2021, reportedly cracks were found in houses of 14 families.
Present crisis came to notice on 2nd January when an aquifer burst at Jaypee colony. Percolation of water began and people of town noticed cracks in their houses. Gradually narrow cracks became wide enough forcing people to make right hue and cry. Panic gripped residents of town with each passing day. In no time, bigger and stable buildings, drains, roads etc too developed cracks. Water was found flowing beneath some houses also. Within a short time the personnel of Central Building Research Institute arrived. They started marking unusable houses with the help of representatives of District administration.
COMMUNICATION GAP
5) As it happens in such situations, required attention is not immediately given by the concerned Block, Sub-Division and town level authorities. A communication gap is also seen between them and those handling bigger projects.
6) It came as a surprise later that even Army barracks situated at some distance from Joshimath too had developed cracks and that timely steps were taken to move the troops to safer areas. Army and civil personnel should have shared information and offered co-operation to each other.
EXTENT OF DAMAGE
7) As per initial reports, cracks in 186 houses were noticed and that two hotels located side by side were found tilting towards each other. Now another two such hotels have been discovered. Even one of the pillars of 4.5 kms long Auli ropeway going upto an altitude of 9000 feet developed cracks.
By 6th January when the number became 561, State Government decided to halt all construction works. When the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand visited the distressed town, he ordered urgent evacuation and setting up of relief camps. Two places located at a distance of 35 kms and 90 kms were identified. All possible relief materials, ration kits, blankets, heaters and security was promised. An additional amount of Rs eleven crores was given to D.M.Chamoli District. Later nine wards of town were declared landslide subsistence zones.
RESISTANCE VS PERSUATION
8) According to updated information, 825 houses in all are having cracks of which 165 are in unsafe zones. 798 occupants of houses upon showing initial reluctance to shift, have finally shifted to temporary relief camps. Some of town dwellers ,however, are still adamant and staying back. Raising of relief money from Rs One lakh to Rs.
One and a half lakh per family seems to have supported the stand of the Government. People may have also heaved a sigh of relief when informed that amount being disbursed was in the nature of Interim relief.
INTERVENTION OF PMO
9) In view of gravity of situation, the Prime Minister Office took immediate note of the unfortunate developments and a high level meeting of experts decided to prepare short and long term plans for conservation and rehabilitation. It was decided to strengthen the efforts of State Disaster Management Agency by sending a team of NDMA. A decision was also taken that a team of experts of NDMA, NIDM, GSI, IIT, Roorkee, CBRI, National Institute of Hydrology and Wadia Institute Of Himalayan Geology will study the situation and give their recommendations over the issue.
National Disaster Management Agency in its preliminary findings have found that the place did not have functional early warning system, no mock drills were conducted and disaster maintenance plan of the town was not updated after 2020.
SUBSISTENCE HAPPENING FOR LONG
10) Cracks have been attributed to sinking of land which may not have happened in a few days. Now referred to as subsistence, it may have got a long history. Now that ISRO, based on its satellite imagery has confirmed subsistence upto 9 centimetres in seven months and 5.4 c.m. vertical subsistence in twelve days between 27th December and 8th January ,deep concerns are being rightly expressed. Visits of public spirited citizens and environmental experts to the area too have registered a rise.
LEAF FROM HISTORY
11) First instance of subsistence was reported in one Mishra Commission Report way back in 1976.M.C.Mishra, the then Commissioner on seeing the condition of the area had spelt out the following reasons: haphazard constructions, deforestation, use of explosives for road works and inadequate drainage of waste water. He had recommended survey to identify stable zones, ban on heavy constructions & tree felling and limited constructions in safe areas.
The State Disaster Management Agency had also said in a report in August 2022 that unplanned development without due regard to bearing capacity of the town had aggravated slope instability.
12) In addition, it has been learnt that lack of sewerage waste water disposal system too may have worsened the situation. Sewer line project for the town has been kept pending. It was emphasized in a report submitted in 2010 and yet again in November 2020 in another report , it was recommended. But follow up measures together with source of funding are reported to have in the way.
13) What future holds up for Joshimath can not be stated right now as reports and recommendations made in the past were ignored . Rather, it was thought proper to approve several hydel power projects. In the meanwhile, reports about cracks in houses are being received from other places of state also, such as, Tehri, Karanprayag, Uttarkashi and Pauri. There is a possibility that such cracks due to sinking and subsistence of land may be happening in other hill states of western and eastern Himalayas as well.
Findings of the expert group appointed by the PMO is going to be a long drawn and time taking exercise. Many confirmations and verifications would be necessary.
14) It is high time, people living on mountains give up the habit of constructing the high rises and be satisfied with small and aesthetic constructions which merge well with the surroundings. After causing damage to environment for personal gains, people should not look towards Government for solutions. Government should also make assessment about any kind of construction and road works from time to time and keep on issuing warnings for building works in risk zones especially if an area is in Zone V from seismic sensitivity point of view.
About the Author : Dr. Aaloc Srivastav, Ex CS , Sikkim is a Senior Retd Bureaucrat and passionate about writing on his favourite subjects . The views shared by the author are his personal.
