Why is Joshimath drowning in Uttarakhand? That’s what the experts say

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An expert said that the factors are not recent, they have accumulated over a long period of time.

Dehradun:

A variety of human and natural factors led to the Joshimath subsidence, said Kalachand Sen, director of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology.

He said that the factors are not recent, they have been accumulated over a long period of time.

“The three main factors are Joshimath’s weak foundations as it was developed on landslide debris caused by an earthquake more than a century ago, its location in the seismic zone V which is more prone to earthquakes along with the gradual weathering and percolation of water which reduces the cohesive strength of the rocks over time,” said Mr. O for PTI.

He said, “Atkins first wrote about the site of Joshimath on the landslide debris of the Himalayan Gazetteer in 1886. Even the Mishra Commission in its report in 1976 wrote about its location in an ancient subsidence.”

He said the descent of the Himalayan rivers and the heavy rains that characterize the region, along with the floods in the Rishganga and Duliganga rivers last year, may have exacerbated the situation.

Since Joshimath is the gateway to Badrinath, Hemkund Sahib and slum ski destination Auli, slum construction activities have been going on in the area for a long time without thinking about the pressure the town can face, he said, adding that this may also have led to cracks appearing in the houses there. .

“Hotels and restaurants have spread everywhere. The pressure of the population and the size of the tourist crowd has also doubled,” he said.

“It is unlikely that many homes in the city will survive and the people who live in them should be moved to safe locations because life is precious,” he said.

After the people in the affected areas have been evacuated to safety, careful zoning of the city and re-planning of the drainage system and rainwater outlets should be carried out along with assessment of rock strength among other things, as suggested by Mr. Sen.

(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by the NDTV staff and was published from a syndicated feed.)

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