Joshimath Sinking: Filled Up Cracks Reappear, Some Are 2-Feet Wide, Half-A-Kilometre Long

A survey by the Sri Dev Suman Uttarakhand University has found that some cracks in the town of Joshimath that had been filled up have reappeared.

The four-member team that conducted a ground survey in Joshimath has revealed that there are cracks as wide as 2 feet and as long as half a kilometre.

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Cracks were filled up by authorities

This is for the first time since the land subsidence began in Joshimath that the size of the cracks has been revealed.

In the Manohar Bagh area, where the district administration filled the cracks with soil, the experts found that the voids have reappeared recently.

The experts said that this year¡¯s monsoon rainfall would play a crucial role in determining the future of Joshimath.

ANI

Fresh cracks on Badrinath highway

Earlier this week, there were reports that fresh cracks have appeared on the road connecting Narasingh temple in Joshimath and Badrinath.

The road, a bypass of the Badrinath highway leading to the Himalayan temple, takes pilgrims from Joshimath to Badrinath during the Char Dham yatra.

"Fresh cracks have appeared on the road over the past three days," Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (JBSS) spokesman Kamal Raturi told PTI.

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Some cracks have also appeared on the highway between Joshimath and Marwari, used by pilgrims returning from Badrinath and passing through the main market in Joshimath.

On Monday, Chamoli DM Himanshu Khurana said that cracks have appeared on the road from JP to Marwari on the Badrinath Highway.

More houses develop cracks

"Instructions have been given to Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to test the cracks and take protective measures," Khurana said.

According to DM Khurana, people "complained about cracks in some houses".

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Khurana also ordered the evacuation of people living in "unsafe" houses in subsidence-hit areas of Karnaprayag to safer locations.

Around 30 buildings in Karnaprayag have developed cracks and eight of them are absolutely unsafe, he said.

Like Joshimath, Karnaprayag has also been in the grip of a land subsidence problem for more than a year.

Khurana said that officials have been asked to shift the people living in such houses to safer locations.

Those who choose to live in houses on rent will be paid the rent amount for six months, the DM said.

Crack metres have been installed in the houses to find out whether the existing cracks are widening and new ones developing, he said.

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More than 40 families become homeless

Villagers of Paingadh village in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand have also been forced to leave their houses due to landslides and cracks appearing in their accommodations.

More than 40 families from the village, which is among the oldest settlements on the bank of the Pindar River near Tharali on the Karnaparayag-Almora National Highway, have now become homeless.

Char Dham yatra 2023

The development of more cracks in Joshimath comes ahead of the annual Char Dham Yatra.

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The Char Dham Yatra this year will commence with the opening of the Gangotri and the Yamunotri temple portals on April 22. The Kedarnath portal will open on April 25 and that for Badrinath on April 27.

A Border Roads Organisation (BRO) team will be stationed in Joshimath to monitor the yatra daily and ensure immediate treatment of cracks on roads or any other problem that might arise.

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