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Joshimath, a small but popular town located on major pilgrimage and trekking trails in Uttrakhand, has been in news of late for the wrong reason — it is sinking, rock by rock.

Geologically, the sinking is attributed to a phenomenon called ‘land subsidence’¹ , which is caused when large amounts of groundwater have been withdrawn from certain types of rocks, such as fine-grained sediments. The rock compacts (loses its porosity) because the water is partly responsible for holding the ground up. When the water is withdrawn, the rock falls in on itself.

The first case of subsidence in Joshimath in recent years came to light in October 2021 when cracks developed in 14-15 houses. That number had increased to 150 by December 2022 and zoomed to 849 in the third week of January 2023².

The number of houses in the unsafe zone (inhabitable) had increased to 167 by the third week of January from 86 as on January 10, 2023³. A few such unsafe hotels were razed to the ground by authorities, allegedly without appropriate compensation for loss of livelihood. Further, 250 families have been evacuated to safer locations.

The event has added grist to the raging discussion around raising environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.