Sinking future

Do we learn from our mistakes? I mean, that should be the natural order of things. Foolish enough to make blunders, wise enough to learn from them, and careful enough not to repeat it. About a decade ago, Uttarakhand faced devastation. As a powerful mid-day cloudburst swept away the temple town of Kedarnath, there were urgent pleas to abandon mindless, geologically dangerous development and urbanisation.

Concrete towns drilled into the mountains far more than what the earth could bear, teeming populations, ill-planned tourism, and a ravaging of nature had eventually led to complete and utter destruction in June 2013. Considered India’s worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami, the ensuing landslides and floods annihilated 4,550 villages and killed over 6,000 people. Only the ancient Lord Shiva Temple survived the relentless currents of water. Reports suggest a massive boulder protected the temple — some say it was divine intervention, others attribute the miraculous escape to ingenious Indian engineering — whatever the accepted explanation, the general consensus on luck playing a part cannot be denied.

Years later, the residents of Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, also have had luck on their side. This holy town in Uttarakhand, considered the gateway to mountain climbing and trekking in the Himalayas, has been declared disaster-prone after the appearance of deep cracks in over 700 structures due to land subsidence. The 20,000-odd population inhabiting this sinking town stare at uncertainty and depend on government handouts of rehabilitation and resettlement. It’s fortuitous though that the inhabitants received the warning well in time, and have the chance to relocate, thereby, avoiding an imminent disaster. Many buildings were feared to be on the verge of collapse. Roads show alarmingly wide crevices, muddy water seeping out. Neighbouring towns of Raini and Karnaprayag also reported similar cracks. A calamity that has been in the offing for over a year.

Residents protested the demolition of the worst-affected hotels and buildings. Along with shops and hotels, at least 678 homes currently are in danger, according to the state government. Construction activities have now been banned and almost 4,000 people have been taken to relief camps. Though certain news reports suggest that stone-cutting in the hills may still be continuing surreptitiously.

Compensation to the affected have been announced and further steps of relief and rehabilitation are being worked on. National and state disaster response forces are stationed in the area to help with ongoing evacuation. The Central government is also installing micro seismic observation systems in Joshimath. The action has been swift both at the Central and state administrative levels. But the question is why is Joshimath sinking?

Data from satellites point to the region sinking annually at a rate of 6.5 cm. The hill town is purportedly built on an ancient landslide site. A growing population and concretisation of the town also meant impeding natural water drainage and greater discharge of water. News reports state that there were 128 landslides in the region between 2009 and 2012. In 2021, an independent committee said that further excavation would sink Joshimath, calling for a more detailed multi-agency probe. Residents and geologists further claim that blasting and tunnelling work initiated by the state-run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), which is building a hydroelectricity plant (Tapovan Vishnugad hydel power project) in the state, could be a reason. The NTPC, however, has denied the charges. If it’s not the 520-megawatt dam, then it could be the Char Dham project. Experts believe that the 900 km all-weather road that’s being built through the state to promote religious tourism would have also contributed to tipping the ecological scales. According to news reports, the recent happenings may also be linked to the glacier burst of 2021 that killed 200 people and the puncturing of the aquifer in 2009.

Warnings of the region being ecologically delicate has been coming over the years. Some as old as from 40 years ago were blatantly ignored. Uncontrolled construction while paying little heed to the ecological balance of a landslide prone region coupled with climate change has ultimately led to this day. At the heart of the matter is human greed and irreverent ambition — disrespect for the environment, lack of foresight, and worst, a callous handling of the matters of climate change and sustainability. We will keep facing natural disasters, land subsidence, and human loss as long as man refuses to build around nature in sync with our surroundings. Otherwise, even while we pave roads to reach holy sites, the Gods will surely abandon us.

The writer is an author and media entrepreneur. Views expressed are personal