SC rejects plea to declare Joshimath crisis a national disaster

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition asking the apex court to declare the crisis currently ongoing in the temple town of Joshimath in Uttarakhand as a national disaster.

The plea was filed by petitioner Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and asked the Supreme Court to intervene and declare the sinking of the town a national disaster.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala rejected the petition asking Saraswati to take up the plea with the Uttarakhand high court.

“As a matter of principle, we should allow the HC to deal with this. HC is ceased of a broad range of issues, we’ll give you liberty to approach HC,” the Supreme Court bench stated.

According to satellite images recently shared by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the city sank 5.4 cm in just 12 days from December 27 to January 8.

The report from the research organisation cites “a rapid subsidence event that was triggered on January 2, 2022” as a reason for the massive sinking, with experts opining that the entire city may end up sinking eventually.

The town of Joshimath holds significance as a temple town due to its location as the gateway to many popular pilgrimages like Badrinath.

687 homes, as well as popularly frequented hotels and other establishments are said to be in danger as per the Uttarakhand government.