Dehradun: The cracks on the Badrinath National Highway near Gopeshwar in Uttarakhand have increased the risk of subsidence. Cracks appeared in Uttarakhand's Joshimath last December and this January. Sources said that the National Highway near Joshimath-Gopeshwar has been slowly sliding down.
Currently, about a 100-metre portion of the highway between Maithana is rapidly slipping towards the River Alaknanda. Apart from this, due to heavy landslides near Maletha and Devprayag, the road is being damaged. On the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway near Pursari village, there are signs of land subsidence as cracks were visible on the road. The portion between Chamoli and Nandprayag was clearly sinking towards the River Alaknanda. Concerned about the situation, the officials warned those coming from the mountain areas on vehicles to slow down.
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A police team has been deployed at the affected place to alert the drivers. Due to heavy rains this monsoon, not only fresh landslide points emerged on the highway, but also old ones reemerged. Sources said that incessant rains since August 13 damaged roads at many places on the highway in Uttarakhand. In view of the condition of the highway, a team from Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) inspected the places.
Last month, the State government ordered to form a team to check the capacity of the cities for frequent landslides in Uttarakhand. The survey of the structure of the land and mountains will be conducted by experts in Landslide Reduction and Disaster Management. According to Disaster Management secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha, the tender process has been started by the Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre (ULMMC). Sinha said, "In the initial phase, we are conducting a survey of 15 towns. It is true that cracks have been increased in the state for some time."
