Now Aligarh cracks after Joshimath, panic grip locals
Five houses in Aligarh‘s Kanwariganj neighborhood have appeared cracks, sending locals into a panic as worries about ground subsidence in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, reach an all-time high. Hundreds of families in the holy town of Joshimath during this bitter winter face homelessness.
“Over the last several days, cracks have appeared in some of our houses, due to which we are living in panic. We have complained about it, but the municipal corporation authorities are not taking any concrete actions and are only giving assurances. We are afraid that the houses may collapse,” Shashi, a local, reported to the news agency ANI.
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Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh | Just received information that cracks have developed in few houses in Aligarh. Will send our team and a probe will be conducted into why this has happened: Rakesh Kumar Yadav, Additional Commissioner, Municipal Corporation pic.twitter.com/T8j8H5heRZ
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 10, 2023
Locals claim that a pipeline installed by the government as a part of the Smart City initiative is currently leaking and developing cracks.
“It has been almost four days. We have informed the relevant departments, but no assistance has been provided so far. We are being forced to live in terror,” said Afsha Mashroor, another local.
Rakesh Kumar Yadav, the Additional Commissioner of Municipal Corporation, acknowledged the issue in the interim and promised that the department would take the appropriate steps.
“We have just received the information that there have been cracks in some houses in the Kanwariganj area. The matter has not yet come to full notice. We will now send our team to the site, and the necessary action will be taken by the Municipal Corporation,” assured Yadav.
The civic body’s staff arrived in the evening with bulldozers after noticing the cracks in the residences. Satish Chandra, the head engineer, urged a quick evacuation of the impacted homes due to security reasons.
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According to Chandra, a crack in the road caused the houses’ cracks. He stated that residents had been told to leave their homes.
The municipal corporation has temporarily shut down the underground drain and stated that those responsible for blocking the flow of drains would suffer repercussions.
