Temple collapses in Uttarakhand's Joshimath, no casualty

Joshimath: A temple collapsed in Singdhar ward of the Himalayan town of Joshimath on Friday evening, further alarming residents living under constant fear of a major disaster in the offing, officials said.

According to local residents, there was no one inside the temple when the incident occurred as it had been abandoned after it developed huge cracks over the past 15 days. Huge cracks have appeared in many houses and nearly 50 families have been moved to safer locations, disaster management officials said.

Apart from them, 60 families living in a colony meant for Vishnu Prayag Jal Vidyut Pariyojana employees have been shifted elsewhere, its director Pankaj Chauhan said. Marwari area where an aquifer burst three days ago is the worst hit. Several houses there were damaged in varying degrees while water from the aquifer is constantly flowing down with great force.

All construction activities related to mega projects like the Chardham all-weather road (Helang - Marwari bypass) and the NTPC's hydel project have been stopped till further orders on the demand of residents.

The Auli ropeway service has also been stopped after a huge crack developed beneath it, former president of the local municipality Rishi Prasad Sati said. Land subsidence has been going on for more than a year but the problem has aggravated over the past fortnight, he said. 

Meanwhile, protests continued on Friday as people staged a dharna at the tehsil office of Joshimath, demanding rehabilitation. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in Dehradun a team of experts is camping in Joshimath to study all aspects of the problem and everything will be done to save the town.