Sinking Town in Indian Himalayas Spotlights Risks of Development
- Like Joshimath, other towns on brink of disaster, experts say
- Rampant constsruction, projects pose danger to Himalayas
A woman sits beside a cracked wall of her house at Joshimath on Jan. 10.
Photographer: Brijesh Sati/AFP/Getty Images
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A sinking Himalayan town is highlighting the dangers posed to the region and the fragile ecology of the mountain range disturbed by a proliferation of dams, roads and military sites near the border with China.
The risks, flagged for decades by environmentalists and activists, came to the fore recently after land subsidence — gradual sinking due to displacement of underground earth layers — led to cracks in hundreds of homes in the tiny town of Joshimath, located at an altitude of over 6,000 feet (1,830 meters) in the northern hill state of Uttarakhand.