'Sinking Joshimath' derails marriages; houses marked red, unfit for living

Cracks appearing in houses in Joshimath hill station in Uttarakhand have upset the marriage plans of many brides and grooms. The day to day lives of the residents are turned upside down even as the officials are marking red cross on their houses declaring them unfit for living.

Joshimath (Uttarakhand): Anxiety is writ large on the faces of Joshimath residents. Fissures appearing on several houses due to land subsidence have put them in a tense situation. All social events and family functions are derailed. Several upcoming marriages in this 'sinking hill station' have been put on hold.

The residents' concerns in day to day life are only increasing. What will happen to the purchases made for the marriage purpose? Where can the marriage ceremony related goods be stockpiled? Affected people have been asked to vacate the houses and move to safer places. In such a situation, the families are not able to find a place to store the belongings, gifts and other household items purchased for the brides and grooms.

Apart from this, shelving the marriage plans or postponing is the another cause for concern for affected families in Joshimath. A girl named Jyoti with tears in her eyes, said, "The situation is very alarming. It seems impossible that in such a situation my marriage will be solemnized. We were in Dehradun to make purchases for the upcoming marriage ceremony. Goods have been dumped in the house. But the situation is fluid. We don't know where to go and how to manage things."

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Expressing concern over land subsidence in Joshimath leading to cracks appearing on the houses, Jyoti's mother said, "The marriage of my daughter was planned in March. But the officials have put red cross mark on our house, marking it unfit for living. We will have to vacate the house and take shelter somewhere else. God knows what will happen. We were planning to organize my daughter's marriage from this house."

Meanwhile, the daily report submitted by Chamoli disaster management department has earmarked at least 760 buildings located in nine wards of the Joshimath municipality as unsafe for living. These houses were painted with red cross mark. At least 169 families or 589 persons have been shifted to safer places so far.