6-ft hole in a Joshimath field sparks fresh fears
A 6-ft deep hole has appeared in a field in Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, according to an eyewitness, sparking fresh fears of geological instability due to the monsoon rains in the pilgrim gateway town where hundreds of families had to be evacuated to safer locations in January after several houses developed dangerous cracks.
“I discovered a hole at least 6ft deep in a small field near my house. It appears to have been developed due to monsoon rains,” said Vinod Saklani, a resident of Sunil ward in Joshimath town. “We fear more damage to structures in our town due to the rains. I have filled the hole with stone and soil. Even the cracks in damaged houses are expanding slowly but gradually.”
The Saklani family was among the first in the town to see cracks develop in their house two years ago. The situation aggravated in early January this year. “I have been living in a hotel (in a safer location) since January 6 and visit my house every day during the day to take care of the cattle tied in the field near the house,” Saklani said.
Local authorities visited to location on Sunday. “They have said that a technical team would visit to inspect the hole thoroughly on Monday,” Saklani said.
As many as 868 structures have developed cracks in Joshimath, the gateway town to the Hindu shrine of Bradrinath, and 181 have been declared unsafe so far. Several hundreds of peole were evacuated earlier this year and most of them are still living in relief camps.
A group of residents under the banner of Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti recently met Chamoli district magistrate Himanshu Khurana at district headquarters Gopeshwar over possible threats to the town during the monsoon and presented 11-point unfulfilled demands.
The civil society group will stage a sit-in on Monday to draw the attention of the government on questions around the stability of Joshimath, according to convener Atul Sati.