Landslide in Joshimath, known as the Gateway of the Himalayas, caused several meter deep cracks in the ground and cracked walls of more than 700 houses. The marks of terror of this disaster are visible on every local face here. Colonies and hotels are being evacuated. The district administration shifted some 70 families to the guesthouse in the last three days.
Ten more families were shifted to safer places on Thursday. Angered by the government’s neglect, people have blocked the chakka for several hours since morning. Joshimath-Auli ropeway has also been closed for tourists in terms of security. The Prime Minister’s Office itself is taking information every moment in this matter. The state government has constituted a team of experts which will reach Joshimath by late evening. This team will submit its report to the government regarding long term and immediate measures to prevent landslides.
All this did not happen suddenly. The beautiful Joshimath of tourists has been in decline since a long time. Tell that to go to places like Hemkund Sahib, Auli Valley of Flowers etc., travelers have to pass through this Janshimath. The Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti of the local people has been agitating for the last several years regarding this landslide. But there was no hearing.
Just three days ago, suddenly big cracks appeared in many houses built in almost all the nine wards of the city. A wave of fear ran through the whole city. These cracks are increasing every next day. This panic increased further when cracks appeared in the houses of Jaypee Company’s residential complex. Water seepage continues from the ground in the rear of the colony.
Seeing the increasing threat, Jaypee Company shifted 50 families to its guest house. Six teams of the district administration are conducting door-to-door survey regarding landslides and shifting people to safer places. So far, apart from JP Colony, 34 other families have been shifted to safer places.
The survey work is going on in which it is being seen which houses have developed cracks. The famous hotel Mount View here got skewed due to land subsidence. It is said that on Monday night, the families living behind came in panic due to the sound of cracking the walls of the hotel. These five families ran away from home and spent the whole night outside in the cold. The administration vacated the hotel the next day.
Similarly, JP’s post office also had to be shifted. Joint Magistrate Deepak Saini said that the affected families have been given shelter at places like Municipal Gurudwara, AGICA, ITI, Tapovan Primary School, Joshimath etc. Seeing the worsening of the situation, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami sent a team of experts to Joshimath on Thursday. This team reached Joshimath late in the evening.
