Govt declares Joshimath as landslide, susbsidence zone; here's why

Many residents have also blamed state-owned NTPC's Tapovan Vishnugad Hydro Power Project for the incident

Joshimath, Uttarakhand on Sunday was declared as a landslide and subsidence hit zone by the authorities. The development comes almost a week after the cracks started appearing in many roads and houses of Joshimath.

The decision to declare it a landslide and subsidence-hit zone was reached during the high-level meeting which took place among the top officials of the Central government, the state government officials, and officers from agencies like the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH).

While many refused to vacate their homes and blamed the construction activities