Scarred for life: the #Himalayan towns sinking into oblivion

The construction of vast dams and a network of roads and railways have taken a heavy toll on the state of #Uttarakhand, with buildings in #Joshimath and other settlements collapsing and residents blaming government indifference

by Hannah Ellis-Petersen, Mon 20 Mar 2023

"Joshimath sits 6,000ft up in the Indian high Himalayas, a mountain range steeped in spiritual meaning for Hindus who believe it is the abode of the gods. Nanda Devi, a peak visible from a point above the town, is said to be a manifestation of the Hindu goddess Parvati. The town is close to one of the most sacred Hindu shrines of the Himalayas, Badrinath temple, where millions of salvation-seeking pilgrims travel every year.

"As far back as 1976, scientists cautioned that any heavy construction, tunnelling or disturbance of the Joshimath slope could have serious consequences. The warnings were ignored, and an unregulated sprawl of homes, multistorey hotels, shops and restaurants was allowed to spring up along the mountainside. #Trees, which stabilised the ground, were cut down and drainage was neglected.

"The allegation now being investigated by independent geologists is that the cracks caused by boring and blasting the tunnel have spread deep into the mountain. As a result, the water that gushed into the tunnel after the 2021 disaster, and other disrupted water flows caused by construction, is now seeping through these cracks and destabilising the slope where Joshimath stands."

#Overdevelopment #Exploitation #MotherEarth #Capitalism #EnviromentalCatastrophe

Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/mar/20/scarred-for-life-the-himalayan-towns-sinking-into-oblivion