Joshimath Land Sinking And Cracks: A team of four experts from Shri Dev Suman Uttarakhand University has conducted a ground survey regarding the Joshimath landslide. Their survey revealed that the cracks in Joshimath are 2 feet wide and half a kilometer long. This is the first time government officials have publicly disclosed the length and width of the cracks. This survey shows how big the crisis is in Joshimath.
The university had formed a committee to assess the ground situation and experts had studied the breaches that occurred between January 25 and 28. The members of the panel submitted the report to the Vice-Chancellor of the university, MS Rawat, on Tuesday (February 21). Now it will be sent to the Uttarakhand government. The panel comprises professor of geography DC Goswami, geologist Srikrishna Nautiyal and assistant professors of geology Krishna Goswami and Arvind Bhatt.
Panel member Srikrishna Nautiyal told The Times of India, “The cracks in Manohar Bagh were as wide as 2 feet, enough room for a person to stand inside. The cracks in open areas extended up to 300 meters and where construction was going on.” There it was spread for half a kilometer.” He said that the cracks are near the ropeway in the middle of Joshimath city. Earlier it was filled, but when the site was re-examined, the cracks reappeared.
‘Water leakage from tunnel boring of NTPC’
The members of the committee said that due to natural and anthropogenic pressure including NTPC’s tunnel boring machine, a large amount of water has leaked. Let us tell you that NTPC has denied its role in the landslide from the very beginning.
‘The rain will decide the future of Joshimath’
The panel further said that this year’s monsoon rains will play an important role in determining the future of Joshimath. He said, “It is the ‘load carrying capacity’ of the city that needs to be reduced. If the pressure on the city is increased, it will increase the problem further.” Experts also pointed out that Joshimath is technically in an active seismic zone and pressures from private and government construction works have triggered the present situation.
