Why Joshimath In Uttarakhand Is Declared Landslide Subsidence Zone?

Why Joshimath In Uttarakhand Is Declared Landslide Subsidence Zone?: Joshimath, a city in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand has been recently declared a landslide Subsidence zone by respective authorities.

Context

• Joshimath, Uttarakhand on January 08, 2022, was declared as a landslide and subsidence hit zone.
• This is done almost a week after the cracks started appearing in many roads and houses of Joshimath.

Background

• On 3 January, residents of the city awoke to discover that the cracks in buildings, roadways and agriculture fields had widened considerably.
• This caused some buildings to be deemed unfit for inhabitance due to their unstable structure.
• Over sixty families have been relocated because their houses have been deemed uninhabitable, and this is likely to get worse in the coming months and years.

Daily Current Affairs For UPSC 10 January 2023, Prelims Bits

Which Authority Declared Joshimath A Landslide Subsidence Zone?

The decision to declare Joshimath a landslide and subsidence-hit zone was reached during the high-level meeting which took place among the top officials of the Central government, the state government officials, and officers from agencies like the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH).

What Is Land Subsidence?

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) defines land subsidence as the sinking of the ground because of underground material movement.
• So, Land Subsidence is the vertical downward displacement of the Earth’s surface. This is generally caused by insufficient supports from under the Earth’s surface.
• The sinking can also take place owing to a variety of other reasons, including, the removal of water, oil, or natural resources, along with mining activities. Earthquakes, soil erosion, and soil compaction.
• As of this incident, cracks and fissures have appeared in nearly 600 buildings, in roadways, and in agricultural fields.

Where Joshimath Is Located?

• Joshimath, a city in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand has been declared a land-subsidence zone.
• Joshimath is one of 395 villages that have been identified to be situated in the disaster-prone belt of Uttarakhand, which spans over 12 districts.
• Joshimath, a major tourist spot is considered the ‘Gateway’ to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib and has thus undergone rapid expansion with a constant influx of tourists and pilgrims.

What Are The Possible Reasons Behind Frequent Land Subsidence In Joshimath?

• While the exact cause of land subsidence in Joshimath is uncertain, experts have suggested that it might have occurred because of unplanned construction activities, overpopulation in the region, and obstruction of the natural flow of water and hydel power activities.
• Joshimath is also a seismic zone, which makes it prone to frequent earthquakes.
• Warnings about the instability of the region date as far back as 1976, when the Mishra Commission declared the area unsuitable for construction through blasting or removing boulders.
• A survey was conducted in 2021, on request of a Supreme Court appointed panel which concluded that the city was built on landslide material.
• Moreover, a lack of a proper drainage system might have also contributed to the sinking of Joshimath.
• According to the experts, unplanned and unauthorised construction led to the blocking of the natural flow of water, which eventually results in frequent landslides.
• Many residents and Geologists have also blamed state-owned NTPC’s Tapovan Vishnugad Hydro Power Project for the incident and have alleged that the tunnel had water seepage from a punctured aquifer, leading to the drying of water sources in Joshimath. NTPC, however, denied the allegations and in a statement, said, the tunnel built by NTPC does not pass under Joshimath town. This tunnel is dug by a tunnel boring machine (TBM) and no blasting is being carried out presently.

What Did the MC Mishra committee Say?

• • 50-year-old MC Mishra committee report first highlighted the possibility of such an incident occurring.
  • The MC Mishra committee report stated that Joshimath was situated on an old landslide zone, and it does not have high-load bearing capacity.
  • This makes the city extremely vulnerable to ever-burgeoning infrastructure and population.

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