‘Sinking’ Town, Shattered Lives

Joshimath—perched on a hill at an altitude of 6,150 feet—is strategically important. It is close to the Indo-China border. It is also an important pilgrim and tourist town. Over the years, tourists going to Char Dham yatra, Hemkund Sahib, the Valley of Flowers, the Nanda Devi National Park, and the ski slopes of Auli have been passing through the sleepy town, providing the locals with employment opportunities.

Until recently, lakhs of tourists visited Joshimth every year. Mindless construction took over. Several hotels, guesthouses, homestays and dharamshalas—many illegally built—sprang up to cater to the increasing number of tourists. The fragile slopes of Joshimath could not take so much burden.

The hill town has been facing land subsidence issues since the 1970s. Factors like deforestation, unplanned construction of buildings and road construction using explosives, combined with other issues like inadequate drainage of wastewater and erosion at the base caused by the Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers have done much damage.

In addition, hydroelectric projects have come up in the region. The constant drilling of mountains, blastings, and cutting of trees have made the mountains extremely fragile.

In January 2023 Joshimath started “sinking”. Homes, roads and commercial establishments developed huge cracks. Many buildings had to be demolished and people became homeless.

Raghu Singh Kunwar’s home had to be razed with bulldozers after it was declared unfit by the administration. Now, he is living in a rented accommodation with his family.

While Kunwar received compensation, many others are not so lucky. Dinesh Kumar and Satashri Devi's home was declared unfit last year. But since they have nowhere to go, they continue to live in the same cracked house.

Rajshri Devi, who spent her life savings to build a two-room home, had to vacate it last year. A daily wager, she is now spending Rs 2,000 on rent.

Every evening, Bhagwati Prasad Kaparwan and Shyama Devi Kaparwan visit their ‘unfit’ home which they had to vacate in January last year. There are too many memories, they say. 

For the past two years, tourists have been giving ‘unsafe’ Joshimath a miss. People are living in fear and anxiety. They say they can’t sleep when it rains. However, despite the life-threatening issues, people do not want to leave the hill town. They want the government to resolve the compensation and rehabilitation-related issues so that they can rebuild their lives.