Experts point to old fault lines as Joshimath hits 'point of no return'

Joshimath, the gateway to various pilgrimage sites, including Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, seems to have reached a point of no return.

Calamity knocked the door of the holy town last week, when around 600 houses were reported to have witnessed cracks. 

This was followed by intense protests by the residents, who demanded a ban on all types of construction activities.

This includes the Tapovan-Vishnugad hydro power project of India’s largest power generator NTPC and all-weather Char Dham road between Helang and Marwari. 

Though the government has now stopped all construction activities and formed a committee to study the geologically-unstable region, geologists believe that the town is beyond repair.

“To some extent, it seems that the situation is irreversible,” said experts. 

“There is no solution for Joshimath now and the government should save the people,” said geologist Sarswati Prakash Sati. The rate of subsidence is too high and any day all these houses, which have developed cracks, could collapse, added Sati. 

Sati, along with Shubraha Sharma and Navin Juyal, conducted an independent study of the town in 2022 and found that land subsidence increased substantially after the Rishi Ganga incident in 2021.

Their study also highlighted that none of the recommendations made by various committees were being followed in the development of the town. 

“None of the recommendations were followed in planning and execution of the projects in the area — including the hydro power project,” said Sati. 

Tug of war between ecology and development

In an official statement last week, NTPC claimed that the tunnel made for the Tapovan Visnugarh project does not pass through Joshimath.

According to an independent project expert, two tunnels are being dug as part of the 520 megawatt (Mw) Tapovan-Vishnugad Hydroelectric project.

One is being dug from Tapovan and the other from Selang.

“This tunnel has been constructed with a tunnel-boring machine and no blasting work has been done in the recent past. NTPC wants to inform with full responsibility that this tunnel has nothing to do with landslides happening in Joshimath. NTPC expresses its sympathy and condolences to the residents of Joshimath city in such an odd situation,” said the statement. 

However, several experts claim independent scientists have been kept away from studying the project. 

A report by the Mishra Committee — in 1976 — had warned of not removing boulders by digging or blasting the hillside for road repairs and other construction activities.

The committee, headed by MC Mishra, then Garhwal commissioner of erstwhile Uttar Pradesh, was formed in 1964 to study the ecologically-volatile Joshimath.

According to experts, the commission was constituted after huge deployment of troops and infrastructure development during and post the Indo-China war of 1962. 

In 1976, the commission, in its report, called for banning heavy construction in the area around Joshimath.

Researchers claim that an unprecedented spree of infrastructure development activities has disturbed the natural equilibrium of Joshimath, thus resulting in the sinking of the town. 

Joshimath is situated at 6,000 feet in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. It is in seismically-active Zone V — a region with a high risk of earthquakes.

According to the seismic zoning map of the country, Zone V is seismically the most active region. And approximately, 11 per cent of the area of the country falls under this category. In any landslide-prone location, construction activities like hydropower and highways make the location more unstable.

Halting construction will not help

Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, said that even if construction remains halted and all projects are abandoned, then also, there is a risk. This is because these projects have hollowed out the area. 

Thakkar believes that only a detailed study of the region would determine the severity of the crisis.

He recommends that in the Himalayas or any other fragile areas, only sustainable development should be done. 

The rising population due to tourism and lack of proper drainage infrastructure also increased the built up areas, changing the town’s ecological dynamics. 

The government’s newly-formed committee is scheduled to submit its report on Monday. But environmentalists believe that it is hardly going to come up with any solution.

“The committee constitutes all the government stakeholders and lacks independent voices,” said Mallika Bhanot, an environmentalist associated with the Ganga Mukti Abhiyan.

Independent scientists and environmentalists should be made part of the study, added Bhanot.