New Delhi: Even though India has gotten better at preparing for and responding to disasters, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says that crises like the Joshimath incident are caused by the fragility of the Himalayas and the growth of population and infrastructure.
Joshimath, in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, has been declared a landslide and subsidence disaster area by local authorities. Wide cracks have appeared on residential and commercial buildings, roads, and fields in the town that is known as a hiking and pilgrimage destination. Many buildings have been declared unsafe, and their occupants have been relocated.
"Whether it is flash floods, cloud bursts or incidents like Joshimath, it is partly because of a combination of issues. The increase in human population and infrastructure to cater to tourists and the fragility of the Himalayas are at the root (of it)," Yash Veer Bhatnagar, country representative of IUCN India, said in an interview with PTI.—Inputs from Agencies