6-ft hole in a Joshimath field sparks fresh fears

Dehradun: A 6-ft deep hole has appeared in a field in Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, according to an eyewitness, sparking fresh fears of geological instability due to the monsoon rains in the pilgrim gateway town where hundreds of families had to be evacuated to safer locations in January after several houses developed dangerous cracks.

“I discovered a hole at least 6ft deep in a small field near my house. It appears to have been developed due to monsoon rains,” said Vinod Saklani, a resident of Sunil ward in Joshimath town. “We fear more damage to structures in our town due to the rains. I have filled the hole with stone and soil. Even the cracks in damaged houses are expanding slowly but gradually.”

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The Saklani family was among the first in the town to see cracks develop in their house two years ago. The situation aggravated in early January this year. “I have been living in a hotel (in a safer location) since January 6 and visit my house every day during the day to take care of the cattle tied in the field near the house,” Saklani said.

Local authorities visited to location on Sunday. “They have said that a technical team would visit to inspect the hole thoroughly on Monday,” Saklani said.

As many as 868 structures have developed cracks in Joshimath, the gateway town to the Hindu shrine of Bradrinath, and 181 have been declared unsafe so far. Several hundreds of peole were evacuated earlier this year and most of them are still living in relief camps.

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A group of residents under the banner of Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti recently met Chamoli district magistrate Himanshu Khurana at district headquarters Gopeshwar over possible threats to the town during the monsoon and presented 11-point unfulfilled demands.

The civil society group will stage a sit-in on Monday to draw the attention of the government on questions around the stability of Joshimath, according to convener Atul Sati.

“On rainy days, the disaster-affected people are spending their days and nights in fear. However, there has been a lack of interest by the government towards Joshimth in the past two months despite the chief minister’s assurance. Leave alone fulfilling the 11-point demands, our proposals for dialogue have been ignored,” Sati said.

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“The fact-finding report of scientists is yet to be made public,” he added. “Without this, the authorities restarted construction work of the Helang Marwari bypass, which is deadly for the town’s future.”

Subdivisional magistrate Kumkum Joshi didn’t respond to calls despite repeated attempts.

Chamoli receives 1,230.8 mm of rainfall every year, according to India Meteorological Department, which is higher than the state average of 1,162.7 mm. In 2022, Chamoli received 1196.4 mm of rainfall between June and September, whereas Uttarakhand received 1,128.0 mm rainfall during the south-west monsoon.

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As the larger part of Chamoli district is situated on the southern slopes of the outer Himalayas, monsoon currents penetrate through trenched valleys, with rainfall reaching its maximum during the monsoon season.

Chamoli district, where Joshimath is located, has a history of extreme rainfall events. It received 537.9 mm of rainfall in July 2013, which was the second highest recorded rainfall in the district since records began in 1901. The maximum rainfall of 860.7 mm was reported in September 1924.

The February 2021 Chamoli tragedy near Raini village, just 20km from Joshimath, showed how vulnerable the area was to natural disasters. The flash floods killed 204 people, but only 92 bodies were recovered. These flash floods in the Alaknanda River, flowing at the base of the Joshimath town, had eroded the toe at the base of the town, with local residents claiming it could be one of the causes of instability of Joshimath’s landmass.

“The water moving underground erodes fine material (loose soft rocks) under the surface and creates a depression in the form of a hole. A lot depends on monsoon rains. In event of excessive rainfall, it would aggravate the problem there,” Professor YP Sundriyal, head of department, Geology, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, said.