For centuries, the town of Joshimath has been the centre of faith, and a spiritual getaway in the mighty Himalayas
Located at a height of 6,000 feet in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, Joshimath on the route to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib falls in high-risk seismic ‘Zone-V’
The town has been on high alert since 1976 when the Mishra Committee report alerted about large-scale landslides in the region almost 50 years ago.
CSIR chief scientist DP Kanungo stated that between 2009 and 2012, as many as 128 landslides were recorded in the Chamoli-Joshimath region
The ancient Uttarakhand town is a famous pilgrimage, where religious reformer Adi Shankaracharya attained enlightenment in the 8th century
The winter season and the danger of house collapse due to landslides have now become a major issue. Nine wards of Joshimath town have been massively affected by landslides
The Disaster Management Department has reported cases of water seepage from below ground in the earthquake-prone region
The District Disaster Management Department has reported that cracks have reportedly developed in as many as 561 houses in Joshimath due to continued land subsidence in the town
Over 3,000 people have been affected so far. Around 153 houses in Ravigram, 127 houses in Gandhinagar, 71 in Manoharbagh, 52 in Singhdhar, 50 in Parsari less than 30 houses each in Upper Bazar, Suneel, Marwadi and Lower Bazar areas, have been damaged
People in the Joshimath Town of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand have been fleeing from their houses to safer places. A total of 66 families are reported to have migrated from Joshimath as of now
The residents staged a protest against the administration and blamed the NTPC’s Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project, claiming this led to the gradual sinking of the town
The Himalayan town is considered the gateway for several climbing expeditions in the Himalayas. These include the trek to the pilgrimage centre of Badrinath and to the Valley of Flowers
The Joshimath Cantonment, the permanent station of the Garwhal Scouts, is very close to the Indo-Tibetan Border.
The station was the main centre for the rescue missions carried out by the Indian Army during the 2013 Uttarakhand floods, which was partially shown in the Sushant Singh Rajput and Sara Ali Khan starrer 2018 film Kedarnath
Story by: Basudha Das
Designed by: Pragati