Joshimath land subsidence: Locals vacate as govt declares their houses ‘unsafe’

With cracks widening due to land subsidence, residents in various wards of Joshimath town in Chamoli district began vacating their houses after the district administration issued a notice for vacation, declaring their houses “unsafe to stay in.”

After the Uttarakhand government declared Joshimath’s all nine municipal wards as ‘disaster affected’ and ‘unsafe for living’ under the Disaster Management Act, the residents are being shifted to the relief camps set up by the administration to accommodate the affected people.

The development followed an expert team surveying houses in Joshimath, who made a recommendation in this regard to the state administration. Over 600 of 3,800 houses in Joshimath town have developed cracks, according to district officials.

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“We have lived here for years. Our livelihood is dependent on this town. Initially, we thought these hairline cracks are nothing. Shockingly, they are growing at such a rapid pace,” a resident of Manohar Bagh, one of the nine wards in Joshimath, Suraj Kapruwan said as he packed his belongings to shift to an accommodation.

“I shifted my kids and family two days ago to safer places. I don’t know how this house would exist,” he said.

In many houses at Manohar Bagh, the administration on Sunday painted a huge “X symbol” with red paint – implying that it is unsafe for living.

“The cracks have started growing wider. We are compelled to vacate the house built with our hard-earned money over the years,” said Usha (60), a resident of Manohar Bagh.

Looking at the cracks in the Jyoteshwar Mahadev Temple in Jyotirmath premises, she said, “We are on the verge of losing our identity. If God can’t save the structure that belongs to him, you can imagine what would happen to us.”

Rajni, another resident of Manohar Bagh and a teacher in a private school in Joshimath said, “We are staring at an uncertain future. The school where I work may vanish too.”

After the district administration declared her house unsafe, she said, “We will leave our house tomorrow as it is not safe to live anymore. I am concerned about the safety of my daughter and son. Though the government says we should shift to hotels and other accommodations made available by them, what if they develop cracks too.”

Himanshu Khurana, district magistrate (DM), Chamoli district, said, “So far, 60 families have shifted to safer places and more are shifting. Four areas which include two zones in Gandhinagar, one zone in Singhdar, two in Manohar ward and one in Sunil ward within municipal limits of Joshimath have been declared unsafe for living and made no entry zones under Disaster Management Act.”

“We have deployed a team of state disaster response force (SDRF) and directed the officials to carry out the evacuation of people from these zones”, said Khurana.

Further, on the directions of the state government, Khurana on Sunday appointed ‘sector officials’ in all nine wards (one in each) of the Joshimath who will ensure survey, demarcation, shifting of affected families to alternative locations, shelter houses, making all required arrangements and other rescue and relief work.

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Chief secretary SS Sandhu, along with chief minister’s secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram, director general of police (DGP) Ashok Kumar also inspected Joshimath town on Sunday.

On Saturday, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami too visited Joshimath to assess the situation on the ground, a day after he directed the immediate evacuation of around 600 affected families.

Sandhu said experts and geoscientists from various agencies from across the country are studying the situation and they will suggest possible short-term and long-term remedial measures.

On Friday, the CM chaired a review meeting and issued directions to vacate the danger zone and activate the disaster control room in Joshimath without delay.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with CM Dhami and assured all help from the centre.

A team of experts from NDMA, the National Institute of Disaster Management, the Geological Survey of India, IIT Roorkee, the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, the National Institute of Hydrology and the Central Building Research Institute are studying the situation.