Editorial: Gateway to disaster

The crisis in Joshimath is a grim reminder of how successive governments messed up with the environment

The fears of many residents and environmental experts have now been confirmed. The latest report of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has concluded that Uttarakhand’s Joshimath, the gateway to the holy shrine of Badrinath, is unsafe and fragile as its carrying capacity has long crossed acceptable limits. Consequently, there should be no further constructions in the region which has been facing land subsidence with several houses and roads developing wide cracks. The 2011 census for Joshimath recorded a population of 16,709, with a density of 1,454 per square km, as compared with over 25,000 now. There are increasing concerns over the likely impact of the ‘Char Dham’ pilgrimage on the ecology of the region. Experts have also pointed out the possibility of earthquakes occurring in the Himalayan region. The NDMA’s alarming report confirms the fears over the adverse impact of the development projects in the Himalayan States. Instead of getting bogged down in the binary debate of environment versus development, the authorities need to conduct a comprehensive survey of the carrying capacities of each Himalayan State and plan the projects accordingly. There needs to be a transparent approach, involving all the stakeholders while taking up development projects in the environmentally fragile regions. According to official figures, Uttarakhand alone experienced over 1,100 landslides so far this year, compared with 354 and 245 for 2021 and 2022 respectively. More than 50 years ago, an official committee, headed by the then commissioner of Garhwal, examined the issue of land subsidence and recommended that the construction activity be linked to the soil’s load-bearing capacity.

The Himalayan region is highly prone to earthquakes and landslides. The northern districts of the Garhwal region are categorised as Zone V, the highest level of susceptibility, for seismic activity. These areas also witness a high incidence of landslides. The Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) also suggested a thorough review of the current status of the construction practices and development. In addition, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) reported that Joshimath has been getting a lot of ground cracks in the areas where people stay and have built multi-storey houses. Due to the ground cracks, many families were forced to leave their places. The heavy load exerted by a dense construction of towering structures over the heterogenous colluvium debris mass, which is saturated with shallow subsurface water, only accentuated the shear stress on the slope, thus increasing subsidence in these areas. The CBRI report suggested that out of 2,364 buildings in Joshimath, 20% houses are “unusable” while 42% are under “further assessment”. The crisis in Joshimath is a grim reminder of how successive governments messed up with the environment. The land subsidence in the region must be declared as a national calamity and all developmental projects be halted till a report by experts and environmentalists is submitted on the issue.

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