Sinking again? Uttarakhand’s Joshimath stares at uncertainty

Mild submergence has been reported at some places in Sunil ward, and the affected families have been asked to go to relief camps.
A worker looks at cracks that appeared in a building, at the land subsidence affected area in Joshimath, Uttarakhand. (Photo | PTI)
A worker looks at cracks that appeared in a building, at the land subsidence affected area in Joshimath, Uttarakhand. (Photo | PTI)

DEHRADUN: After eight months, people of Uttarakhand’s Joshimath are once again in fear of an impending disaster in the city,  which was hit by land submergence earlier this year. They are scared of the “sounds of water flowing” from the strong current under the floor in the houses of Sunil ward residents.

Speaking to this daily, District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said, “Mild submergence has been reported at some places in Sunil ward, and the affected families have been asked to go to relief camps. Besides this, the situation is normal elsewhere in the city. We will get complaints related to the water sounds examined by the hydrology department,” DM Khurana said.

Dr Gopal Krishna, a scientist at the National Institute of Hydrology in Roorkee, said, “Due to the accumulation of soil inside the ground, stagnant water makes its way somewhere. There may be such reasons behind the sound of water flowing inside the ground.” 

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