The Uttarakhand Government has acknowledged that more houses in the land subsidence-hit Joshimath town in Chamoli district have developed fresh cracks.
According to authorities, the official number of houses that have developed cracks in Joshimath now stands at 868.
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First acknowledgement since January 28
This is an increase of five more houses from the official figure of 863, which was last updated on January 28.
The five houses that have newly developed cracks are in the Singhdhar ward. As many as 156 houses have now developed cracks in Joshimath’s worst-hit area. Officials said 98 houses there fall under the unsafe zone and may face demolition. Overall, 181 houses have been designated unsafe.
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Cracks have been developing for days
Officials say that the cracks are new and affected residents say that houses have been developing cracks and the existing ones are getting wider. Still, the authorities did not reportedly acknowledge it till now.
Ashish Dimri, an affected resident, has demanded that the administration mark his house unsafe, as the cracks in its walls have increased in the last three days.
Dimri alleged that he had informed the administration about the matter, who deemed the situation normal.
Earlier this week, authorities had installed a crackometer in his house.
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Scientists of the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) said that crackometers had been installed in more than 60 houses of the ward, which had been inspected for about 15 days.
Cracks on Badrinath Highway widen
The cracks on the Badrinath Highway near Singhdhar Ward have also been increasing. The administrative officers inspected the spot after receiving information about it.
At present, no other report of an increase in cracks has surfaced. The Rapid Action Force (RAF), which the Centre deployed in the city, left on February 5.
Government hiding real numbers
Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti convener Atul Sati, however, said that the actual number of houses that have developed cracks is much higher. He also alleged that the authorities are not conducting proper surveys in the affected area to hide the reality.
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Displaced locals wait for rehabilitation
Meanwhile, the hundreds of Joshimath residents who have been forced to leave their unsafe houses are still waiting for permanent rehabilitation and many have been living in temporary relief camps.
“The land beneath our home began to sink on January 2 and by the very next day, our house had become uninhabitable. All this happened suddenly,” Bharti Devi, a displaced woman in her 70s, said.
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“We and nearly half a dozen neighbouring families picked up whatever we could from our homes and took refuge in a nearby school which was closed at that time. But now it has been opened and we have been ousted from there as well,” she added.
Bharti Devi’s family is among the oldest residents of the Singdhar ward.
“Our ancestors settled here soon after Joshimath came into existence. The settlement in this area is almost as old as them,” she said.
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