Joshimath crisis: PIL in Delhi HC, seeks direction to constitute high power committee

NEW DELHI, (PTI): A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been moved in Delhi High Court seeking direction to the Centre to constitute a high power joint committee in the chairmanship of retired Justice of the High Court and representative of all relevant ministries to look into this immediately for the affected areas of Joshimath, Uttarakhand, who work for the rehabilitation of people.

The petitioner Rohit Rohit Dandriyal, a practising lawyer stated that the construction activity done in the town of Joshimath, Uttarakhand in past years worked as a catalyst in the present scenario, by these activities respondents violated the fundament right of the people right of the residents of the Joshimath, Uttarakhand.

The plea further stated that the respondent has to act as a welfare state and duty bound to extend modern amenable living facilities to the citizens. it is pertinent for the union of India to take cognizance of the plight of the people of people Garhwal region of Uttarakhand and take note to provide the citizens with basic facilities important to lead a dignified and respectable life. The plea is likely to come for a hearing in the coming week before a Division bench of the Delhi High Court.

The hill town of Joshimath in Uttarakhand has been disrupted in the last few days as residents took to the streets to demand action for the cracks that have developed in their houses.

In one of the strangest phenomena to strike the holy town nestled in the serene hills of Chamoli at a height of 6,000 ft, houses started developing cracks and damages in 2021, leaving residents anxious and worried.

Since the first reports of the cracks in 2021 after landslides in Chamoli, over 570 houses have sustained damages or cracks as residents experienced seismic tremors repeatedly in the subsequent years, stated the plea.

Joshimath, also known as Jyotirmath, is a city and a municipal board in Chamoli District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.

Located at a height of 6150 feet (1875 m), it is a gateway to several Himalayan mountain climbing expeditions, trekking trails and pilgrim centres like Badrinath.

It is home to one of the four cardinal pithas established by Adi Shankara. Since 7 February 2021, the area has been severely affected by the 2021 Uttarakhand flood and its aftermath, the plea read. (ANI)