Dehradun: With only a couple of months to go before the Char Dham jatra scheduled in April-May this year, there has fresh cracks noticed in parts of the Badrinath highway at Joshimath in Uttarakhand causing alarm for the state and local administration. The administration has also noticed widening of the fissures of the buildings.
After land subsidence in Joshimath, cracks had developed on the Badrinath highway. There has been subsidence in some of the places and new cracks have developed in many places. The government is also concerned because the existing cracks have widened. Similarly, fissures in the residential and commercial buildings too have widened with some buildings recording signs of fresh cracks.
According to the local administration, there are atleast 20 places on the Highway that is affected by landslides and it is increasing everyday. Recently the administration has admitted that cracks have been observed in 868 houses where the earlier figure was 863, making it obvious that the condition is of Joshimath is still vulnerable.
Keeping in mind, the huge influx of pilgrims and tourists, though the administration is trying to make a patchwork but that is not enough to cover the chinks that is appearing nearly regularly. The maximum landslide on the Badrinath Highway is observed in the Marwari region, where the road has sunk at more than a dozen places. Apart from that cracks have also been identified in areas like JP Colony and Chhawni Bazar. The Border Roads Organisation that is responsible for the maintenance of the roads and tried to fill up the gaps with with soil and debris but that is not enough to cover the gaps.
Also Read : Uttarakhand govt begins working on blueprint to save Mussoorie from ecological degradation
According to sources, the cracks are presently appearing in a 400 metres stretch where some of the major buildings like the BRO camp office and the PWD inspection building is situated. The situation is getting worse every passing day.
In addition to this, the government is also worried about the Char Dham Jatra where lakhs of pilgrims will gather in this holy city. "There will be a huge movement of traffic and people. This additional pressure will surely affect the condition of the city. We are trying to restore normalcy as soon as possible," a senior government official said.
Since October 2021, cracks have developed in around 4500 buildings, of which 181 were declared unsafe and 275 families were shifted to other places.
