Part of Joshimath-Auli road collapses, locals blame ITBP construction work

DEHRADUN: A significant portion of the Joshimath-Auli road collapsed on Tuesday, which hampered access to the skiing resort of Auli from Joshimath. The collapse was attributed by local residents and activists to alleged construction work by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which has a battalion headquarters at Joshimath. "An around 20m-long stretch of the single-lane road collapsed," said a resident of Sunil municipal ward.
The damaged road restricted the movement of heavy vehicles and trucks belonging to the Indian Army and ITBP, both of which have a significant presence in Auli, just over 10km from Joshimath.However, it remained unclear whether the road collapse was due to the alleged construction activity or was result of a new round of subsidence in the town, which experienced sudden and severe land subsidence last year.
When queried, Chamoli district magistrate Himanshu Khurana told TOI, "The Border Roads Organisation has been informed to repair the damaged section of the road to ensure the unrestricted movement of vehicles."
Regarding complaints of ongoing construction in violation of the administration's Jan 2023 order, the DM said "if an official complaint is received, an inquiry will be conducted, and if the allegations are found true, appropriate action will be taken by the concerned authority."
Meanwhile, Atul Sati, convenor of Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (JBSS), a local advocacy group, said, "Since Jan 5, 2023, all heavy construction has been officially banned in the subsidence-hit Joshimath area. But construction activity has still continued unabated and which has now led to the cuurent situation."
Sati claimed that they had "repeatedly warned the govt and administration about potential dangers due to fresh construction." "We had alerted that any construction activity may trigger a fresh round of subsidence in the particular fragile portion of Joshimath, and rainfall in the coming days will make things worse," he added.
Notably, around 1,000 residential and commercial structures in Joshimath were classified as "high-risk", slated for evacuation and eventual demolition, as per the disaster management department. These at-risk houses are predominantly located in four municipal wards, including Manohar Bagh, Sunil, Marwari and Singdhar, which have been most affected by the vertical sinking of land, which suddenly aggravated in Jan 2023, leading to extensive displacement of the residents.
Serving as the gateway to Badrinath temple, Sikh shrine Hemkund Sahib, skiing destination Auli, and UNESCO World Heritage site Valley of Flowers, Joshimath encompasses an area of 2.8 sq km, comprising approximately 2,364 buildings across nine administrative wards.