As houses collapse and evacuations continue in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath, the Centre has ruled out correlations with the National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) 520 MW Tapovan Vishnugad hydropower project. The power ministry said that the NTPC tunnel does not pass under the town, attributing the ‘sinking’ to natural causes and increased construction activities, according to a report by the Hindustan Times, Livemint’s sister publication.
According to the draft letter accessed by HT, the tunnel lies some 1.1 km from the outer boundary of Joshimath. Located approximately 1.1 km below the ground level, it was build using a tunnel boring machine that causes no disturbance to the surrounding rock mass.
The power ministry attributed the land subsidence to sub-surface seepage erosion caused by natural drainage, occasional heavy rainfall, periodic seismic activities and increased construction activities.
Officials anonymously told the publication that the draft letter would first showed with the Home ministry sent to the Uttarakhand government.
Officials said the work had stopped for now but the project would continue.
Uttarakhand | A few houses in Singhdhar, Joshimath developed cracks earlier this month, and a temple collapsed due to land subsidence. The affected families were shifted to a nearby govt school. pic.twitter.com/mxbCD6RCI3
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 13, 2023
Locals and environmentalists however contend that the NTPC project is the key reason behind the land subsidence. Earlier this month residents of Joshimath had held protests contending that “non-stop digging and underground blasting to dig a tunnel” was the key reason behind key reason behind land subsidence in Joshimath.
It is pertinent to note here that Uttarakhand, which is prone to flash floods and landslides, has more than 10 operational hydropower projects, with another 75 being built (including NTPC’s Tapovan-Vishnugad plant).
