Joshimath declared ‘landslide-subsidence zone’

Tags: State News

Joshimath, the gateway to Hemkund Sahib and Badrinath, has been declared a landslide-subsidence zone.

An overview of the news

• Joshimath in Uttarakhand is currently facing landslides. Big cracks are being seen between people's houses and roads.

• People are spending their nights outside in the bitter cold due to the fear of their houses collapsing.

• Joshimath is a hill town located on the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway (NH-7) in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.

• The city is a tourist town as it serves as a rest stop for people visiting Badrinath, Auli, Valley of Flowers, and Hemkund Sahib.

What is the crisis of Joshimath?

• Joshimath is a deposit of sand and stone - it is not the main rock - so it was not suitable for settlement.

• Here the natural factors have been imbalanced due to vibration caused by explosions, heavy traffic etc. Lack of proper drainage facilities is also a reason for landslides.

• A lot of water is seeping into the crystalline rocks below the surface, softening them further.

• When water is not allowed to flow through its natural course, it builds up a lot of pressure above or below the ground.