Joshimath: Badrinath highway collapses along with cracks in many places, trouble on travel

in Joshimath Badrinath National Highway Due to subsidence and cracks in many places, concern has increased about the Badrinath Yatra which will start after a few months.Joshimath Nagar The National Highway from TCP area to Marwari Bridge in 1960 was in the grip of landslides for a long time, but after increasing recently, it is now sinking in more places.

Dinesh Lal, a resident of Joshimath, told that on January 2 and 3, when his house was damaged due to cracks, on the same day the National Highway also had the largest landslide. He said, ‘On the same day, a landslide near JP Colony washed away a large part of the road.’

The cracks are telling themselves

The subsidence of the highway can be clearly seen in the areas of Singhdhar Ward, Motorway leading to Narsingh Temple, Gorang and Marwari on the bypass road. The cracks on the national highway passing near the hotels ‘Mountview’ and ‘Malari Inn’, which are being demolished after being declared unsafe, are telling the situation. From Joshimath, the highway goes to Mana Pass via Badrinath Dham, while at a distance of fifteen kilometers from Joshimath, from the town of Govind Ghat, a road turns to Sri Hemkund Sahib and the Valley of Flowers.

Traffic pressure remains on the highway during Chardham Yatra

There is heavy traffic on the highway during the Chardham Yatra that begins in April-May every year. Regarding the damage caused by landslides and cracks on the highway, Chamoli District Disaster Management Officer Nand Kishor Joshi said the Border Roads Organization (BRO) ) is assessing it, which is being monitored at the level of Uttarakhand government. He said that the road is definitely damaged due to landslide, but the traffic on it is going on as before.

Ongoing meetings between BRO and the state government

On the other hand, BRO sources said that there is subsidence at seven-eight places on the highway, out of which some places are already sinking. He said that efforts are on to improve the road and the issue is being discussed between the BRO officials and the state government. The meetings are going on. According to the sources, the government is waiting for the reports of the technical institutions involved in the investigation from various aspects of the landslide, only after which a decision will be taken in this regard.

According to him, the under-construction Helang-Marwadi Bypass could have been an alternative route for the Badrinath Yatra, but it is unlikely to be completed before the commencement of the Yatra.

Cracks in 863 houses so far, 181 buildings unsafe

Giving information about Joshimath disaster relief works, Chief Development Officer Lalit Narayan Mishra said that cracks have been found in 863 buildings due to landslides in Joshimath city area, out of which 181 buildings are in unsafe area. Mishra said that in Joshimath, 933 members of 278 disaster-affected families have been sent to relief camps in view of security, where basic facilities like food, drinking water, medicine etc. are being provided to them. The speed of earth’s subsidence is being continuously monitored in the landslide prone areas while the work of identifying the buildings with cracks is also going on.

3.72 crore distributed to 310 affected

On the other hand, the work of demolishing two hotels declared unsafe, inspection building of Public Works Department and three private buildings in Joshimath is also being done under the technical supervision of the Central Building Research Institute. In Dehradun, Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Sinha said that 310 affected people have been affected. An amount of Rs 3.72 crore has been distributed as interim assistance from the government.

In JP Colony in Marwari area of ​​Joshimath, the quantity of continuous leakage of water from an unknown underground source has reduced to 182 liters per minute. On January 6, this quantity was 540 liters per minute. On the other hand, snowfall has started again on the high peaks of Joshimath, due to which the winter has increased.