Precaution Before Disaster

The residents of Joshimath town in Uttarakhand are alarmed by the huge cracks appearing in their houses, roads and open spaces with water oozing out from the ground. The cracks are widening by the day, and so too the fear of a possible catastrophe. It is reported that more than 560 houses have been affected and dozens of families have fled to safer locations. Owing to the severity of the situation, the town has been closed for tourists and panic-stricken locals have resorted to protests with torchlights in their hands. The terrifying development has forced the state government to immediately form a team of scientists to investigate the reason for the land subsidence and cracks from ground zero, while major development projects near the vicinity that could worsen the situation have been put on hold. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that he would visit the town in a few days to take stock of the situation and initiate necessary actions while the state BJP unit has also formed a 14-member committee to assess the issue. This prompt response is commendable. However, it is necessary to ponder on what could have been done in the past, both by locals and state authorities, to avoid the “sinking” of the town as well as formulate scientific measures with the help of experts to address the situation.

In the meantime, experts had forewarned a possible sinking of Joshimath about five decades ago. “For road repairs and other construction, it would be advisable not to remove boulders by digging or blasting the hill side… The trees are to be nurtured like children," read the Mishra Committee report of 1976 which was accessed by The Times of India. The panel had suggested prohibiting heavy construction works but the people of the town did not take it seriously and the authorities didn’t initiate any concrete measures. Last year too, an expert panel constituted by the Uttarakhand government, said in its report that several areas of Joshimath were “sinking" due to removal of subsurface materials and poor drainage system, while suggesting prohibition of excavation for various developmental works. This indicates that besides natural factors like soil instability, non implementation of remedial measures suggested by experts had sped up the land subsidence in the area. However, most hill stations including the Northeast India face the risk of a similar situation, more so because the region falls in a earthquake-prone zone. Landslides and road sinking are often reported in cities like Aizawl and Kohima. So, it is necessary to strictly implement model building bye-laws and monitor developmental activities in all hill stations, not just Joshimath, in order to avoid disaster in the future.