Cracks in 600 houses of "sinking" town Joshimath; agitation planned

Dehradun/Gopeshwar: A Joshimath organisation on Tuesday threatened to take to the streets if the Uttarakhand government does not begin a process of rehabilitating people of the sinking town immediately.

A meeting has been convened in the border town of Chamoli district on Wednesday to prepare a strategy for the agitation, Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti convener Atul Sati said.

The number of houses developing cracks in the town rose on Tuesday to over 600, Joshimath Nagar Palika chairman Shailendra Panwar said.

Houses located in a large portion of Singdhar ward have developed cracks since Monday, he said.

Sati had visited Dehradun on Monday to draw the attention of authorities to the problem and demanded immediate rehabilitation of residents of Joshimath.

The base of the town is sinking and the life of residents is in great danger, he said.

"We have been demanding our immediate rehabilitation for a year but we are not being heard," Sati had said on Monday.

Joshimath is the last border town of strategic, religious and tourist importance which falls into seismic zone V, he said.

If an earthquake occurs, it will cause extensive damage to life and property, Sati warned and demanded immediate rehabilitation of residents.

A team of experts has also conducted a survey of the town and found that it is gradually "sinking" with huge cracks appearing in a large number of houses.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has sought a report from Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana on the matter after which corrective steps will be taken.