• Dr. Pradeep Joshi

The history of natural disasters often takes a turn when it’s completely unexpected, but man-made disasters come with signals, information and warning, alongwith wreaking havoc on the general public, riding on the failures of insensitive indolent governments. The Joshimath disaster has once again exposed the side effects of the unscientific, anti-environmental development model being implemented, bypassing the sensitivity of the Himalayas, and arbitrarily implementing imported schemes and projects in the Himalayas; abandoning the traditional methods of conservation and promotion of natural resources, thereby, inviting man-made disasters. Joshimath disaster has given irreparable wounds to the people of Uttarakhand. The community that sacrifices on the borders of the country and is the bearer of Sanatani Hindu traditions is fated to suffer the consequences of the irrational government policies.

Cracks are increasing day-by-day in hundreds of houses, temples, shops, roads, etc. Shankaracharya’s place of worship are all in danger. Due to the fear of being separated from the heritage of their forefathers, ancestral house, land and the centre of faith, distraught people suddenly break down in tears. Joshimath is sinking. The danger can be gauged from the fact that according to the report of ISRO, there has been a significant increase in the intensity of landslides from December27 to January 08. According to the report in these 12 days, the city sank 5.4 cm, but other geologists are claiming it has sunk up to 70 cm, much greater than ISRO report’s claims.

Joshimath - the centre of religion and culture

The religious and cultural importance of Joshimath can be understood from the fact that Joshimath, once the capital of the Katyuri dynasty, has been the abode of Adi Shankaracharya. 2500 years ago, Adi Shankaracharya came here and established the first Math ‘Jyotirmath’ and meditated under the Kalpa tree. Joshimath, known as the ‘Kashi of Uttarakhand’, is the winter abode of Lord Badrinath. The culture of Joshimath is imbued with the mythology of Lord Vishnu. The ancient Narasimha temple is the centre of deep faith of Sanatan devotees. It’s not only the gateway of Badrinath, but also of the holy place of Sikhs - Hemkund Sahib - and UNESCO declared World Heritage Site (2005) - Valley of Flowers. Given this backdrop, the indifference of Prime Minister Modi, the self-proclaimed champion of Hinduism, towards Joshimath is surprising.

Root of current crisis: Tapovan Vishnugad Hydro Electric Project

It is true that the Joshimath area falls in the seismic zone 5, which is very sensitive to earthquakes, where there is a lot of movement below the surface, the city built on the frozen debris of the landslide has built more than its carrying capacity. The population of Joshimath has increased in the last two decades. 50% increase in the population and 100% increase in the number of buildings, lack of drainage system also causes water seepage in the ground, and a web of network of projects around it raises its vulnerability. The governments kept coming up with various projects in the highly sensitive high Himalayan paraglacial region without proper study and the hills kept suffering the ill-effects of such projects. 520MW Tapovan Vishnugad Hydroelectric Project of NTPC set up on Alaknanda and Dhauliganga in Chamoli district has been associated with many controversies, and since its inception in 2006, the local people have been opposing the project, the company has assured people that tunnel boring machines (TBMs) will be used instead of blasting.

On December 24, 2009, the TBM got stuck in the tunnel, due to puncturing of some aquifer, water started coming out at the speed of 600 litres per second, the speed of which later decreased a bit. Even today, it is coming out at the speed of 200 litres per second. NTPC paid Rs. 16 crores as compensation to Jal Nigam after the agitation for drying up of water source, also promised to get insurance for cracks in houses, which was not fulfilled. Local people believe that due to the explosion in the construction of Helang Marwari bypass being built in the foundation of Joshimath, there are more cracks and damages in the buildings.

In 2021, massive rock and avalanche floods in the Alaknanda and Dhauliganga severely affected the project’s hydroelectric plants and killed more than 200 people, including 140 workers in the project.

Today, this Tapovan Vishnugad hydroelectric project is held responsible by the people for the disaster.

Eminent environmentalist Ravi Chopra held a press conference with the Sangharsh Samiti and quoting one research paper that was based on the figures of NTPC and L&T, put the complete blame on NTPC for the Joshimath disaster and suggested of recovering the damages from the same.

Approach of Governments: UPA Vs Modi Government

State residents, environmentalists and religious leaders have always had differences with the government on the construction of hydroelectric and other projects in the state of Uttarakhand for different reasons.

The Congress governments have always kept balancing between development, environment and religious beliefs as their priority, have made transparent dialogues with the stakeholders and altered or postponed the projects as per public sentiments and area’s requirements.

In the year 2010, the UPA government shut down the 480 MW Pala Maneri, 381 MW Bhaironghati, 680 MW Lohari Nagpala hydroelectric projects due to public sentiments and the demands of Sant Samaj, who wished for uninterrupted flow of Mother Ganga in the 135 km area from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi, free from any disturbance caused by the projects. Bypassing the then Energy Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s concern that Rs. 650 crores had been invested and Rs. 2000 crores had been locked in supplies and orders, the Congress leadership intervened and with the efforts of the then Forest and Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, who from the very beginning was in favour of shutting down the project, the Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting chaired by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee not only decided to shut down the projects but also took the decision to bear the project-related expenses incurred by NTPC and also the costs of future protective measures.

On the other hand, the self-proclaimed son of Ganga, who brought 20000 crore flop Namami Gange event, organised Ganga Aarti event for Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe on December12, 2015, had no time for Swami Gyanswaroop Sanand (Prof. G.D. Agarwal) who was fighting for the cleanliness of Ganga or the time to take cognizance of his letters and did not deign to meet him. Disappointed, Swami Gyanswaroop Sanand sat on fast on June22, 2018 and died after 111 days on October 11, 2018, without being heard. Look at the bitter irony that the PM, who did not take cognizance of his issues related to Ganga, praised his works in a tweet upon his death.

Modi launched another ambitious event Chardham project, claiming that connectivity between Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri will be facilitated, exploited the sentiments of the followers of Hindu religion, no matter how many areas reach the condition of Joshimath. Now about 150 new sources of landslides from this mega event of All Weather Road have developed. 12 experts, including Chandi Prasad Bhatt, the leader of the Chipko movement, have said that 90% of the area of All Weather Road is land slide prone and 40% is high risk zone.

There is also the fact that to save the 889 kilometre scheme from EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment), it was divided into 53 small parts whose responsibility is being handled by different agencies. Ravi Chopra, Chairman of the High Powered Committee (HPC) constituted by the Supreme Court to oversee the implementation of the Chardham project, resigned in February 2022, angry with the officials associated with the project for not accepting the suggestions related to environmental protection. Environmentalists kept protesting against All Weather project just like economists had against demonetisation, but it was the order of the king!

Congress Efforts, Demands and Suggestions amid BJP government-made disaster

Sensing the increasing danger in time, aware citizens and social activists of Joshimath have been working to wake up the government for the past 14 months by forming a Sangharsh Samiti. They kept screaming that the tunnel built for the Tapovan Vishnugad hydropower project had hollowed out the land and causing cracks in the buildings, and further bypass road construction is causing landslide by digging at the root of Joshimath.

In November 2021, when the number of cracks in the buildings increased, the Sangharsh Samiti demanded the government to form a committee of scientists and experts without delay which could investigate the reasons and suggest measures. After their pleas fell on deaf ears, the Sangharsh Samiti itself formed a committee of famous geologists, which included Dr. Naveen Juyal, Dr. SP Sati, Dr. Shubhra Sharma, whose report prepared in the month of July was published in all the newspapers, and also sent to the government through DM Chamoli and the local MLA. Thereafter, the Sangharsh Samiti met the Secretary of Disaster Management Ministry and apprised him of the seriousness of the situation. On August 17, a team of experts from the disaster department reached Joshimath as a mere formality. In fact the government staff’s job was to give a clean chit to the project and to pacify the boiling rage of people against NTPC.

In November 2022, the cracks started increasing rapidly, there was a huge protest on December 24, when people had reached their tipping point.

On January 1, the Chief Minister only spared 40 seconds for the Sangharsh Samiti delegation led by local MLA Rajendra Bhandari and didn’t give any satisfactory answer. By now, cracks were increasing rapidly in hundreds of houses, roads, shops and temples, the DM put a stop to the project and construction works under the Disaster Management Act, but the Chief Minister still wasn’t in action mode. On January 07, taking cognizance of the disaster, former National Congress President Shri Rahul Gandhi, despite being busy in ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, alongwith warning the government, asked all the Congress workers to help the victims and escort them to safe places.

Former Chief Minister Harish Rawat, State Congress President Karan Mahara, Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya, former Presidents Pritam Singh and Ganesh Godial, local MLA Rajendra Bhandari and other leaders camped at Joshimath, helped victims and fought for their proper compensation and rehabilitation.

On January 09,Uttarakhand Congress in-charge Devendra Yadav, National Media Chairman Pawan Kheda, Manish Khanduri, Sujata Paul held a press conference at AICC headquarters and informed about the sequence of events with facts and figures and demanded the government to declare Joshimath tragedy a national calamity, to give proper compensation, demanded to stop any ongoing railways related work that could prove a further cause of disaster, and to give permission in a phased manner only following a thorough review. After all this has happened, the central and state governments have woken up from their slumber and are engaged in immediate relief work after forming different committees and talking about concrete action after inputs of committee’s reports.

If you look at the arrangements by the government, you’ll find miserable conditions in the relief camps, lack of doctors and medical aid in hospitals, and the administration’s threatening behaviour to vacate the buildings without any proper compensation and announcement of rehabilitation. Despite all project work having been banned in Disaster Management Act, the blasts are continuing on Helang Marwari road, the written complaint of which has been filed with the administration. Chief Minister Dhami, on his tour, too had to face the anger and wrath of the people.

Under the leadership of State Congress President Karan Mahra, the Congress is engaged in all possible help to the victims, has demanded that compensation for the damage caused by the disaster be given 76 lakh per drain on the lines of Badrinath and also one time settlement for displacement should be given as given during Tehri Dam displacement. Along with Joshimath landslide treatment, appropriate steps should be taken in time in Bhatwadi, Guptkashi, Ukhimath, Munsiyari, Dharchula, Nainital etc. areas with high possibility of disaster so that similar tragedies can be avoided in future.

What could be more ironic than the fact that Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand, due to the apathy of the so-called Hinduwadi government, had to file a petition in the Supreme Court to declare the landslide of Joshimath (penance place of Adi Shankaracharya) as national disaster.

The Author is a Chairman, Vichar-Vibhag Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee