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 constructed 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 be shared with the Home ministry before being sent to the Uttarakhand government.
Started in 2008, the massive project on the Dhaulganga River is likely to be completed within a year. NTPC officials have also denied links. "Tunnels in cities for metro trains are only a few metres from the surface and do not cause any harm to the buildings. This is about a kilometre deep," one official told news agency Reuters anonymously.
Officials said the work had stopped for now but the project would continue.
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).
According to a satellite-based report from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), slow subsidence up to 9 cm was recorded in Joshimath between April and November 2022. More recently between December 27, 2022 and January 8 this year, a rapid subsidence event was triggered. The region subsided around 5 cm within a span of a few days and the areal extent of subsidence has also increased.
(With inputs from agencies)
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