Joshimath crisis: Cracks appear on famous Auli ropeway's platform

Joshimath sinking: As the holy town of Joshimath in Uttarakhand witnesses land subsidence, cracks have also appeared on the platform of the Joshimath-Auli ropeway.

The cracks on the ropeway were spotted on Friday night. The ropeway has been stopped since January 5 due to the situation in the hill town.

Meanwhile, the local residents have organised a front against the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). They put up posters demanding NTPC's exit from the holy city. The locals consider NTPC responsible for the constant threat of landslides in the town.

Joshimath, Uttarakhand Cracks have surfaced on the ropeway platform since yesterday. I have sent the report to higher authorities. Ropeway has been stopped since 5th January due to the situation in Joshimath Dinesh Bhatt, Manager, Ropeway pic.twitter.com/2F5sHNOxcE

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 14, 2023

Auli ropeway

One of its towers is situated in Manoharbaag ward, which has been declared unsafe by the administration, which intensified apprehensions about the ropeway. Ropeway Manager Dinesh Bhatt said that the tower is being regularly checked.

The distance of the ropeway from Joshimath to Auli is about 4 km, in which there are 10 towers. It takes 15 minutes to reach Auli from the holy city by the ropeway and it is preferred by tourists. Taking lessons from Joshimath, the state cabinet has decided to conduct a carrying capacity survey of all hill towns.

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Surveys will be conducted in the municipal corporations, municipalities and nagar panchayat areas in the first phase. The increasing population and construction activities being carried out haphazardly are increasing the pressure on the hill towns.

One of the reasons behind the crisis is that construction exceeds the load-carrying capacity of the city.

(With inputs from IANS)