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Journalism of Courage
The appearance of cracks on many roads and houses across Joshimath, due to land subsidence, is neither a new phenomenon in this region — nor a reversible one. Such cracks have been observed in and around the town for several years now although this time, experts say, they are deeper than ever adding to growing anxiety and concern.
“Today’s situation is a result of a variety of reasons, both natural and man-made,” said Kalachand Sain, director of the Dehradun-based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology whose experts are part of the government team working to salvage the situation in the hilly town.“The soil here is weak, comprising mostly of debris brought about by landslides, the area is also a highly seismic zone. Unplanned construction, population pressure, tourist infrastructure, obstruction to natural flows of water, hydel power projects, development activities have all contributed to the present situation. And all these have been very well documented over the years. The question is what can be done now? These are not processes that can be reversed.”
“The first warning signs were sounded about 50 years ago in the M C Mishra committee report that had highlighted the dangers of unplanned development in this area, and identified the natural vulnerabilities. After that there have been several studies, all flagging the similar concerns. But the town has grown several times since then. It is now the hub of tourists headed to at least three important shrines — Badrinath, Hemkund Sahib and Shankaracharya temple — as a result of which major infrastructure development has taken place. The problem has not been so much that these activities have been carried out as that they have been done in an unplanned, and often unscientific, manner,” Sain said.
The main problem in Joshimath has been the fact that the town has come up on relatively loose soil, deposited by landslides triggered by earthquakes. There are lots of loose soft rocks, moraine (material left behind by retreating glaciers), and sediments. D P Dobhal, a glaciologist, said the area was once under glaciers. The soil is, therefore, not ideal for large constructions. Added to this is the fact that the area falls in a highly seismic zone, and experiences regular tremors, making the top soil unstable.
“In fact, Joshimath is not the only habitation facing this problem. There are several places in Uttarakhand, most of the towns that are above 5,000 feet above sea level (Joshimath is about 6,000 feet above) have similar characteristics. Over the years, people settled down in these areas because they were relatively flat due to the deposition of debris from landslides. But many of them are facing similar problems now,” Dobhal said.
“The appearance of cracks is nothing new. But what we are seeing this time certainly appears to be much more serious and dangerous than earlier,” Dobhal said.
The lack of systematic drainage has compounded the problem. Unregulated construction has often come in the way of the natural flow of water because of which water has had to chart alternative routes.
“A lot of water has been percolating down into the porous crystalline rocks beneath the surface, softening them further. When water is not allowed to flow down its natural course, it creates a lot of pressure, either over the ground, or underneath. And this place already has lots of other sub-surface pressures in the form of tectonic forces,” Sain said.
All this has led to fears that some parts of the town might collapse under its own weight. The state’s response is aimed mainly at identifying the areas that are more vulnerable and evacuating people from these dangerous places.
“There is little else that can be done at this point. The priority, obviously, is to avoid any human tragedy. The area is likely to get rains in the coming days, and that can trigger landslides which can be very dangerous at this time,” Sain said.
Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of India Meteorological Department, said while some rains were indeed expected over Uttarakhand in the coming week, no heavy rainfall events were predicted.
Sain said a long-term response plan should involve a detailed microzonation plan, identifying the risks in different places. “According to the risk assessment, activities would have to be very strictly regulated. It is possible that some areas are found to be no longer safe for human settlements. But the bottomline is that a business-as-usual scenario is just too dangerous now,” he said.
