Cracks in Karnaprayag, 82 km from Joshimath, are as wide and scary

Cracks on the walls of houses at Karnaprayag in Uttarakhand. (Express Photo)

Tula Devi Bisht said her house was built in 2010 and three years later, after a ‘mandi’ (market) came up nearby, cracks started appearing on the walls. “Everything was good before 2013. Initially we ignored the the cracks, but most of the rooms are now too dangerous to stay in,” she said. Most walls of her house have fissures and cracks and all efforts to fill the gaping crevices turned futile as they resurfaced within months.

Adjacent to her house lives Kamla Raturi, who is facing similar issues. “This house was built in 2000, and it has six rooms. Tenants vacated four of the rooms last year and we moved out of the two rooms around two months ago when the cracks got too wide to ignore. Just like all other houses in the locality, cracks started appearing in 2013. In October-November last year, the cracks on the walls and floor widened suddenly, the roof tilted and the doors got stuck. It was then that the tenants left the houses. Who wouldn’t?” said Raturi.

Nearby, the house of Harendra Singh is perhaps the most affected. The occupants have already left the building and rooms are open with several belongings still inside. A wall of the drawing room has a huge diagonal crack around the window, and a pillar has broken into two. The first floor of the two-storey house has also started to tilt.

Residents of houses identified as ‘unsafe’ after the land subsidence in Joshimath shift their belongings on Wednesday. (ANI)

Bhagwati Prashad Sati, who retired as a supply inspector, blamed the ‘mandi’ building and other construction activities around for the situation.

Another resident, Pratima Devi, said there are over two-dozen houses in the area which have developed cracks. Accusing both the present BJP and the previous Congress governments of not listening to their problems, she said the administration paid no heed to their representations for help and relief.

Deep cracks on the ground have caused one of the hotels (Malari Inn) to be almost separated from its foundation, as a result of which it has tilted towards the other hotel (Hotel Mount View).

Talking to The Indian Express, Chamoli District Magistrate (DM) Himanshu Khurana said they were aware of the situation and have already made temporary arrangements for the stay of the affected families at the Nagar Palika premises. “A few months ago, we requested IIT Roorkee to study the area, evaluate the damage, find out what has caused this, and provide a project report on how to solve the issue,” said Khurana, adding that they will rehabilitate the affected people.

Earlier in the day, R Meenakshi Sundaram, Secretary to the Chief Minister, announced that the government is giving an amount of Rs 1.5 lakh each as immediate help and compensation to the affected families of Joshimath. Out of this, Rs 50,000 is for the families to shift to other place, and Rs 1 lakh as an advance compensation.

Families move to shelters in Joshimath. (Express photo by Avaneesh Mishra)

“So far, orders have been issued to dismantle two hotels in Joshimath, as these two buildings are posing threat to other structures in the area. No other structure is being demolished as of now. A survey is being conducted of the affected structures. People are being shifted to safer places. An interim help of Rs 1.5 lakh is being provided to the affected families. Out of this, Rs 50,000 (provided by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority) is for the families to shift to other places and their immediate needs, and Rs 1 lakh as an advance amount to the total relief compensation to be given,” said Sundaram.

Before making the announcement, he held a meeting with the locals and clarified that those affected will be provided compensation as per the market rate. The market rate will be decided in public welfare based on the suggestions of the beneficiaries, he said.

A man shows the cracks that appeared at his house in Joshimath. (PTI)

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who visited Joshimath again on Wednesday, appealed to the people to not believe in rumours regarding the demolition of houses. The CM directed the Chief Secretary to ensure that none of the houses is demolished unless unavoidable. He said that a sum of Rs 45 crore has been sanctioned for the 3,000 affected families and a rehabilitation policy is being prepared.

According to a bulletin issued by the Chamoli district administration, so far, 723 houses have developed cracks in Joshimath, and 86 houses have been identified in ‘danger zone’. A total 499 individuals belonging to 145 families have been shifted to temporary shelters.