Yatra in a time of land subsidence

While the crisis arising out of land subsidence in Joshimath in Uttarakhand is continuing, there have been reports of a series of cracks and land subsidence incidents from other places in the region. Some towns in the state, such as Karnaprayag, have seen land subsidence in varying degrees. Himachal Pradesh has seen landslides and cases of caving in of roads and marketplaces. Some stretches of the McLeodganj-Dharamsala road have sunk.

The latest reports of subsidence are from Doda district in Jammu & Kashmir. In the last few days, there were landslides in some areas of the district, followed by cracks in houses and other buildings. Some of them have been declared unsafe and hundreds of people have been evacuated. Experts are evaluating the situation but there are fears that a Joshimath-like crisis may be in the offing.

Read | What is land subsidence that caused Joshimath sinking?

Experts have also pointed out the possibilities of earthquakes occurring in the Himalayan region. The devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria last week have aggravated the fears about earthquakes. The entire Himalayan region is earthquake-prone. There was an earthquake in Chamoli district in 1999, and smaller tremors have been reported from other places. The Kashmir Valley and parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are considered vulnerable. But no safeguards have been taken to minimise loss of lives and damage to property in such eventualities. There are guidelines about quake-resistant designs and construction of houses and buildings, but these are not being followed in practice. It must be ensured that new buildings follow the safety code and old buildings are strengthened to resist earthquakes. Instead, haphazard constructions and other activities have continued with little check and regulation and they still continue in many places. It is also necessary to create better public awareness in this respect.

There are also increasing concerns over the likely impact of pilgrimage on the ecology of the region. This year’s pilgrimage season is about to start and online and offline registrations for the Char Dham Yatra, which is a tour of the holy sites of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, starts on February 20. The pilgrimage starts on May 3. Last year, a record number of 4.6 million people took part in this pilgrimage, and this year the numbers are expected to go up further. The state government has said that the pilgrimage will be managed well but there is the need to regulate the numbers, as in the case of pilgrimages at some other holy places. The pilgrimage traffic and the infrastructure and arrangements made for it could further aggravate the threat to the region’s fragile environment. There is the potential danger to the pilgrims themselves to take into account. This should be recognised and actions taken accordingly.