Subsiding Himalayas.

"Parts of Joshimath may have sunk by nearly 2.2 feet (70 cm), sources told TOI...on the basis of ground investigation of affected areas carried out recently in the picturesque town, which is facing aggravated land subsidence since the beginning of January." Joshimath is a small town in the state of Uttarakhand, in the Himalayas, of enormous religious significance for Hindus. wikipedia. The town is on the way to Badrinath temple which was visited by 20,000 pilgrims on the first day of pilgrimage on 8 May 2022. euttaranchal. com. A satellite survey by the Indian Space Research Organisation reported 5.4 cm subsidence in 12 days. "The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has directed government officials and institutions not to 'interact with media and share data on social media regarding ground subsidence at Joshimath'." TOI. Unfortunately, this government is in the habit of suppressing unfavorable data. For instance, official reports suggest only a few thousand died of the ferocious coronavirus epidemic in 2021 when car parks were turned into cremation grounds. Reuters. More than 4.7 million died, said the World Health Organization (WHO). "India's government has rejected the figure, saying the methodology is flawed." BBC. And hence, millions of Indian citizens ceased to exist. So, why is Joshimath sinking? "One reason is that the town came up on landslide debris, which was unable to bear the load of houses and roads," wrote Mridula Ramesh. It would be natural for a landslide to slide. Another reason is, "The Tapovan Vishnugad Hydroelectric project lies a few kilometers away from the town. In 2009, a tunnel boring machine employed in this project punctured an underground aquifer and released about 60-70 million liters of water daily for nearly a month." Even a two-year old would predict that the overlying area must subside. A two-year old may also ask why an old technology called seismic survey, Science Direct, was not used before tunneling. "There is more water gushing out of one of those cracks and houses in nearby Karnaprayag have recently developed cracks." Joshimath is not alone. "A construction boom with scant regulations , often under the pressure of burgeoning tourism, finds echo across the Himalayan region." TOI. "As many as 650 hydroelectric projects are planned or underway in high altitude locations across the Himalayan and Hindukush region, many close to glaciers or glacial lakes and seismically active zones." Will anyone be held to account? Of course not. There is taxpayer money. The Uttarakhand government has announced Rs 150,000 for losing homes, Rs 5000 for paying rent and Rs 15,000 to buy fodder for cattle. India Today. This may actually help in getting the votes from grateful residents at the next election. Never waste a good crisis.