DEHRADUN: On Thursday, the Uttarakhand government banned construction work in and around Joshimath over land subsidence that has resulted in cracks in 603 homes there, leading to protests by panicked locals.
Joshimath, at an altitude of 1,890 metres is a town in the Garhwal Himalayas, and an important waystation on both the pilgrim and trekking circuits. But the town of over 20,000 population is also on a fragile mountain slope rendered even more fragile by unplanned and indiscriminate development. Here's the science behind the subsidence.
Location, topography, and extreme weather events
Joshimath is situated in the middle slopes of a hill bounded by the Karmanasa and Dhaknala streams on the west and the east and the Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers on the south and the north. According to a study by Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA), the town is located in an area prone to landslides and the first instance of subsidence in it was reported way back in 1976 Mishra Commission report. "The area around Joshimath town is covered with thick layer of over burden material. Large boulders of gneisses and fragments of basics and schistose rocks are embedded in grey-coloured, silty sandy matrix. This makes the town highly vulnerable to sinking," said Piyoosh Rautela, executive director USDMA.
The USDMA study said that the perennial streams, appreciable snow in the upper reaches, and highly weathered gneissic rocks with low cohesive characteristics makes the area prone to landslides. "Flood events of June 2013 and February 2021 had adverse impact on the landslide zone with toe erosion and sliding along Ravigram Nala and the Nau Ganga Nala having increased since the February 7, 2021, flooding of Rishi Ganga," the study said. Its reference is to the glacial lake burst that caused a flood, resulting in the loss of 204 lives, mostly migrants working on a hydropower project.
This story is from the January 07, 2023 edition of Hindustan Times.
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This story is from the January 07, 2023 edition of Hindustan Times.
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