‘project in progress’
Officials said the 520 MW Tapovan-Vishnugarh hydroelectric power plant on the Dhaulaganga river, commissioned in 2008, is likely to be completed within a year.
NTPC officials said the subsidence was caused by large-scale construction activities in Joshimath, and not the tunnel they were building, which was one kilometer (0.62 mi) from the edge of the city, and much below the surface.
“The tunnels in cities for metro trains are only a few meters from the surface and do not cause any damage to buildings. It is almost a kilometer deep,” said an official, requesting anonymity, as he spoke to the media. Wasn’t authorized to talk.
He also denied any damage to water systems in the area.
Videos of construction and ongoing excavation for the project – despite a government directive to stop all work – are doing the rounds on WhatsApp groups of residents, fueling anger.
Officials said the work has been stopped for the time being, but the project will continue.
“The project is on. We have nothing to do with the current issue.
Shiv Lal’s nephew had found a plumbing job at the hydroelectric plant, but it was a short-term role, he said. Local authorities have moved about 170 families to lodges, hotels, schools and city council buildings for safety, marking 128 of the nearly 4,500 buildings with the Red Cross, indicating they are unsafe to live in. Huh.
Officials said the two hotels, which had developed cracks, were being demolished to avert the possibility of their collapse.
Families from crumbling properties have shifted the elderly, women and children to villages or towns where their relatives live, while the men have returned to negotiate compensation with the district administration.
Scientific teams have spread across Joshimath to study the structural stability of the houses, assess the damage and investigate the source of dirty water coming out of a drain since cracks appeared.
Himanshu Khurana, administrative head of Joshimath-based Chamoli district, said the surrounding land is being identified and its safety is being checked by experts for shifting people.
However, that is unlikely to calm residents whose homes are no longer safe.
“We cannot be taken to any land like animals. We want a one-time settlement,” said 56-year-old folk singer Darwan Naithwal, who left his three-storey house last week to stay in a hotel after he failed to seal cracks on his walls with cement.
Meanwhile, mini trucks laden with mattresses, washing machines and school bags lined the streets of the town this week as more families prepared to move.
“We rented four rooms in Joshimath which covered the cost of our children’s education. Now we will go to our village. I don’t know what is going to happen next,” said Rajni Rawat, standing in a municipal room being used as a shelter, her belongings stacked next to her.