Strong resentment against government in Joshimath for ignoring warnings
Joshimath (PTI): Strong resentment prevails among people here against the government for the indifference with which it treated the warnings about a dangerous situation of buildings in the Himalayan town due to heavy construction activities going on around it.
They hold the NTPC's Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project mainly responsible for the situation.
"We have been drawing the attention of authorities for the past 14 months. But we were not heeded. Now when the situation is getting out of hand, they are sending expert teams to assess things," Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti convenor Atul Sati said.
"If attention was paid in time to what we were saying things would not have been so alarming in Joshimath," he added.
Land subsidence had made the houses of 14 families insecure in November 2021 itself, Sati recalls.
He said that people held a demonstration following this at the tehsil office on November 16, 2021 demanding rehabilitation and handed a memorandum to the SDM who acknowledged that even the tehsil office premises had developed cracks .
"If the government was aware of the problem why didn't it act for more than a year to address it? What does that show?" Sati asked.
He said that under the pressure of people immediate steps have been taken like temporary stopping of the NTPC's Tapovan-Vishnugad project and construction of Helang-Marwari bypass but they are not a permanent solution.
"The threat to Joshimath's existence will persist until these projects are stalled permanently," he said.
Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti will continue to fight till the very end until it is done, he added.
Former Dharmadhikari of Badrinath temple Bhuvan Chandra Uniyal also holds the manner in which the NTPC works for the cracks.
"The tunnel of Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project is located right beneath Joshimath. Big boring machines were brought for its construction which have been stuck in the ground for the past two decades.
Tons of explosives are used on a daily basis for the tunnel's construction. Land subsidence gained momentum on January 3 due to large amount of explosives used by the NTPC.
Uniyal is also angry with the NTPC for breaking its promise made to people.
"The NTPC had earlier said that construction of the tunnel won't harm the houses of Joshimath. The company had even promised to do insurance of the infrastructure in town. It would have benefited the people. But it did not keep its word," he said.
"We should be told on the basis of scientific facts what is the future of Joshimath. Is it inhabitable or not. If yes, for how long. If not, then the government should take our land and homes and rehabilitate us or else we would lay down our lives on it," Uniyal said.
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Plane veers off runway, catches fire at South Korean airport with reports of 28 dead
Seoul (AP): A plane with malfunctioning landing gear veered off the runway, hit a fence and caught fire on Sunday at an airport in southern South Korea, killing at least 28 people, according to the emergency office and local media.
The emergency office said the fire was almost put out and rescue officials were trying to remove passengers from the Jeju Air passenger plane at the airport in the southern city of Muan. It said the plane with about 180 people was returning from Bangkok.
South Korean media outlets including Yonhap news agency reported that at least 28 people had died in the fire. The Muan Fire Station said it couldn't immediately confirm the casualty reports. It said emergency workers pulled out at least two passengers.
Yonhap reported the plane veered off the runway and collided with a fence. Emergency officials said they were examining the exact cause of the fire.
Local TV stations aired footage showing thick pillows of black smoke billowing from the plane engulfed with flame.
Deputy Prime Minister Choi ordered officials to employ all available resources to rescue the passengers and crew, according to Yonhap news agency.
BREAKING: Video shows crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216 in South Korea. 181 people on board pic.twitter.com/9rQUC0Yxt8
— BNO News (@BNONews) December 29, 2024
