They say they have not been given enough compensation to restart their lives; work for stabilisation of Joshimath has also not started
Harish Lal and his wife. Photo: Prabhat Kumar / CSE Harish Lal and his family have returned to his ancestral house which they had been forced to leave on January 3, 2023, as the structure suddenly started sinking at night.
Initially, they were accommodated in a nearby hotel. But after a month, the family was asked to leave. They then started living on rent in a city about 50 km away. When his young daughter recently got betrothed, he could not muster courage to arrange her wedding in an unknown city and rented house. Lal thus decided to return to his ancestral house. But since then, his family has always been scared.
Harish Lal’s family is among those from Uttarakhand’s Joshimath whose houses developed cracks on January 2-3, 2023.
Lal said the ancestral house was his only source of income. The whole family lived upstairs, while there were four shops downstairs. Both his sons used to manage two shops. The other two shops were rented.
As the shops were located on the main road leading to the sacred shrine of Badrinath, the family was able to manage a decent income. Lal also offered his house as lodging to pilgrims during the tourist season. He himself worked as a mason.
But the shops have now been empty for a quarter of a year. There are deep cracks on the walls. Lal and his son are unemployed. At present, there is no source of income for the family.
Joshimath, a town in the state’s Chamoli district, hit the headlines in January 2023 when landslides started occurring there and cracks appeared on the floors and walls of more than 800 buildings.
The administration took a series of quick steps. Some 181 buildings were completely vacated, while more than 800 houses bearing cracks were marked red. At the time, many families were accommodated by the administration in different places besides private hotels and guest houses. But some private hotel owners vacated their rooms, due to which many people moved to rented accommodation, while many returned to their unsafe homes.
The situation is such that even after almost 16 months, no concrete policy has been made to rehabilitate the affected people.
Read DTE Coverage: Why is Joshimath sinking?
Atul Sati, convener of the Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, says that after continuous protests by locals, the administration has fixed the compensation amount of the buildings at Central Public Works Department rates.
But it has not fixed the price of the land on which these buildings are built. According to Sati, more than 1,200 buildings and 1,400 families have been affected due to land subsidence so far. But less than 200 families have received compensation.
Harish Lal also received compensation of Rs 37.72 lakh. He said he had been initially promised an amount of Rs 58.30 lakh by government officials. But in the end, the compensation given was just Rs 37.72 lakh.
When he asked the officials if the compensation had been reduced, they could not give a concrete answer.
Lal, who took a bank loan to build a new house, used the compensation money to repay it. Then, he got his daughter married.
“Now there is not enough money left to start any new employment venture,” Lal told Down To Earth (DTE). His land’s price is very high given its location on the main Badrinath Road. But the administration is not able to fix its price.
When DTE reached Joshimath in the first week of April 2024, the roads of the town were almost deserted. A shopkeeper there said while tourist footfalls rise at this time of year, they have been subdued since last year. “This has directly affected our means of livelihood,” the shopkeeper added.
Prakash Bhotial of Singhdhar had built a two-storey house by using his life’s earnings. A tailor, he used to stitch clothes in the downstairs room. The upper floor was fashioned into a paying guest accommodation.
This house was his source of income. When cracks developed in the town’s houses, he shifted with his family to a location allocated by the administration. But after a month, he was told to leave. He had no other option but to live in his two rooms, which had cracks, though they were in living condition.
“Officials often come and warn me to vacate the house. But they do not tell where I should go to,” Bhotial said.
Prakash Bhotial shows off his cracked house. Photo: Prabhat Kumar / CSE
He added the whole family has to come out of the house whenever it rains during night or day. He has received compensation, but is unable to comprehend as to what he should do with it. This is because he can neither build a proper house to live in nor create new means of employment.
The administration has considered several proposals regarding the displacement of Joshimath residents, but no concrete initiative has been taken so far. Some time ago, the administration proposed that people whose houses were unsafe can be settled in Gauchar, about 100 km from Joshimath. But the people rejected this proposal. They say they will not be able to create their own employment in the new location.
Sati says that the administration has not been able to decide the rehabilitation policy even after almost 16 months. Rather, the government has issued an order (GO) announcing the compensation policy, in which the rate of the land’s price has not been fixed.
Families are still residing in structures which are not at all suitable for living. Some families are living in temporary lodging provided by the government, but they are also being harassed by administration officials.
Lakshmi, whose home in Singdhar developed cracks. She now lives in a tin shed with her family. Photo: Prabhat Kumar / CSE
Lakshmi use to live with her family in Singhdhar. But their house almost collapsed due to land subsidence. They were asked by the administration to stay in a tin shed which did have electricity and water supply. But a few days ago, their electricity was cut. The reason for the power cut was also not given.
Lakshmi has received a compensation of Rs 13 lakh for her houses. But she cannot buy a house in Joshimath or anywhere else with the amount. She is thus forced to live in a tin shed. Six other families also live in such sheds. But they have to spend their nights in the dark due to power cuts.
Lakshmi says that the administration sometimes cuts water or electricity. “They want us to vacate this place, but are not ready to tell us where to go,” she said.
Even as there is no arrangement in place yet for people’s rehabilitation in Joshimath, no concrete steps have been taken to stop the land subsidence either.
Sati says the Centre released Rs 1,400 crore for the Joshimath disaster, of which Rs 1,000 crore is to be spent on stabilisation. Security walls have been proposed to be built. Also, sewage lines, drains, etc. are to be built for drainage. But no work has started in this direction.
The land subsidence has not stopped yet. Cracks are widening in many places and are appearing in new ones.
DTE found cracks that appeared recently in the courtyard of a house in Manohar Bagh. The stairs had completely collapsed. This house belongs to the late Govind Singh Rawat, who was the block chief of the area.
His wife used to live here. She was in Delhi with her son when DTE visited. Locals said the administration was laying a pipeline when the staircase collapsed and cracks appeared in the courtyard. Sati noted that even a little stress was enough to cause cracks to develop in sensitive areas of Joshimath these days.
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