Apart from Uttarakhand’s Joshimath, here are other Indian towns at risk of sinking in near future

The town of Joshimath in Uttarakhand, which is a gateway to several important pilgrimages in India, is currently sinking, with the ground of the city already going down several centimeters over the last 10 days, according to an ISRO report.

Even though environmentalists and experts have been sounding alerts regarding Joshimath for several decades, the crisis intensified recently when the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) reported that the ground in the town has sunk over 5 cm in the last 10 days.

Deep and wide cracks were seen in the walls of houses, temples, and even on roads due to several areas of Joshimath sinking, which sent the residents of the town into a panic. Now, the Centre is taking steps to move the people out of their homes into safer locations over the last few days.

Experts believe that Joshimath is sinking because the town has been constructed in a landslide-prone area, which has a lot of loose debris and eroded rocks, making the ground unstable. Further, the tourist footfall and high rate of construction also played a role in the sinking crisis.

According to experts and environmentalists, Joshimath is not the only town that is at risk of sinking a few inches below the ground. In fact, here is a list of other towns in Uttarakhand that can potentially face the same fate as Joshimath.

Joshimath sinking crisis: Other towns at risk of sinking

• Mana
• Tehri
• Dharasu
• Nainital
• Harshil
• Uttarkashi
• Gauchar
• Pithoragarh
• Champawat

Experts believe that these towns, just like Joshimath, have been constructed on areas that have seen a lot of landslides in the past, and so the ground has instability. Further, these towns see lakhs of tourists every year, due to which industrialization and construction activities have been peaking.

The holy town of Joshimath is located at a height of around 6,000 feet and has become the latest victim of land subsidence, due to which the underground layers of the ground in the area are gradually getting displaced, and eventually sunken.

READ | DNA Special: ISRO satellite report on Joshimath land subsidence deepens panic