Tehri Garhwal house cracks: Nearly a week after houses and roads in Joshimath developed cracks, similar incidents were reported in Uttarakhand's Tehri Garhwal-- around 220 kilometres from the Chamoli District.
According to the news agency ANI, the villages which are adjacent to Tehri Lake developed large cracks in the houses, putting over a half dozen families in danger. The locals alleged that they have been witnessing the incidents of cracks ever since the construction of the Chamba Tunnel started in early 2019.
Notably, Chamba Tunnel is a 440-meter-long all-weather route and was inaugurated by Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari recently.
Locals claim they have informed authorities umpteen times
Meanwhile, locals claimed that they complained to the officials several times "but no concrete solution has been provided". "The cracks started appearing since the construction of the tunnel began. Several surveys took place but no action was taken. We had tenants living here but we made them vacate in 2019. We demand that the govt takes measures here just like they did for Joshimath," Deepak Tiwari, a local affected by the subsidence told the news agency.
"Our home was affected when the tunnel was only 3 to 4 meters. The sewerage system has also stopped working since then. We renovated the house and bathrooms but the new construction is also facing cracks and subsidence," said another local Dinesh Prasad Kotiyal whose house is near the Chamba Tunnel.
Houses in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh develop similar large cracks
Earlier on Tuesday, similar incidents were reported in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh. According to news agency ANI, the incident was first reported from Aligarh's Kanwariganj, where the residents were now complaining that their houses were developing cracks. Locals said that they made several complaints about the incidents to the Municipal authorities and added they did not give a proper reason for the incidents.
Joshimath crisis
It is worth mentioning the major development came nearly a week after houses and roads in Uttarakhand's Joshimath developed cracks. Authorities said that Hotels Malari Inn and Mount View which have developed big cracks will be demolished first adding all the residents in the affected zones have been evacuated.
A bulletin from the Disaster Management Authority Chamoli said that cracks have appeared in 678 houses so far while 82 families have been shifted to safe locations in the town. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear on January 16 a plea seeking the court’s intervention to declare the crisis in Uttarakhand's Joshimath as a national disaster.
(With inputs from agencies)
Also Read: After Joshimath, houses in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh develop cracks and leaks
