Joshimath (Uttarakhand): The hotel owner, the shopkeeper, the owner of the laundry, the roadside vendor... In a sinking town that was thriving until a few weeks ago, hundreds of people watch in horror as fast widening cracks write the end of their businesses and homes.
Small business owners in the Himalayan village of Joshimath have seen their hopes and plans for the future shattered, and they are trying to make sense of how everything changed so quickly.
A few years ago, hotel management graduate Suraj Kapruwan returned to Joshimath to start a laundry business. He vividly recalls the time his future hopes and dreams were shattered.—Inputs from Agencies