Despite India’s Himalayan town of Joshimath facing an uncertain future with cracks appearing in several structures across it and residents being evacuated to safety, banned drilling activities have been found resuming at wee hours.
According to an exclusive report by NDTV, full-fledged stone-crushing and drilling activities were found in the mountains outside the holy town at 2 am on Wednesday (11), close to a highway which connects Joshimath to Badrinath, another holy town.
Cranes were seen carrying stones from the drilling spot and while the noise of drilling could be heard from more than a kilometre away, nobody was found to stop the work, the report added.
All kinds of construction work has been banned in and around Joshimath, located in the northern state of Uttarakhand, due to land subsidence, which has caused dangerous cracks in more than 700 houses.
Work on an all-weather road was also stopped.
Thousands of people were living in fear and were left in tears after being told to leave their homes.
Meanwhile, the administration was facing resistance from the owners and local people over the demolition of two hotels in Joshimath after they dangerously leaned towards each other, threatening the human settlements around them. The local people also alleged that they were not given any prior notice over demolition of houses and other structures. The protesters have demanded compensation in lieu of the demolition and negotiations are underway.
According to many, the cracks have appeared in buildings and roads because of years of unplanned infrastructure building, including hydropower projects.
Some 4,000 people have been moved to relief camps after a satellite survey.
According to satellite data, Joshimath and its neighbouring areas have been sinking at the rate of 6.5 centimetres every year.
Many local residents have also blamed the hydroelectricity project of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), alleging that blasting of tunnels made the entire region unstable. The NTPC, however, has denied the allegation.
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