In the second week of January 2023, photographs from Joshimath began circulating on social media — diagonal cracks splitting plaster walls, floors buckling, an entire street where buildings had shifted visibly on their foundations. Within days, over 800 houses had developed cracks. The government ordered evacuations. The town that serves as the gateway to Badrinath, the winter seat of the Badrinath deity, and the base for treks to the Valley of Flowers was suddenly national news for the worst possible reason.
The ground beneath Joshimath was sinking. And the science said it had been doing so for a long time.
The timeline
Land subsidence warnings about Joshimath go back decades. A Mishra Commission report in 1976 had already noted that the town was built on ancient landslide debris — a loosely consolidated mass of old material from a prehistoric slope failure, not stable bedrock. The report recommended against further construction and heavy development. That recommendation was not followed.
Cracks in buildings were first reported in a more modern context around 2021. Between April and November 2022, satellite data from India's National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC-ISRO) showed that Joshimath had sunk by 8.9 centimetres. Then, between 27 December 2022 and 8 January 2023, a rapid subsidence event was triggered: the town sank by 5.4 centimetres in just twelve days. This sudden acceleration is what turned a chronic geological condition into an acute crisis.
By December 2024 — two years after the crisis began — parts of Joshimath had sunk by more than 30 centimetres in total, according to data reported by Down to Earth. The subsidence rate had slowed to what scientists described as "extremely slow," but the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology warned that heavy monsoon rainfall could re-accelerate the movement at any time.
The damage in numbers
Out of Joshimath's 2,152 houses, 1,403 were affected by the subsidence. Of these:
472 houses were deemed to require complete reconstruction
931 required structural repairs
181 buildings were classified as critically unstable and evacuated
At least 240 families were temporarily displaced. Initially, 99 families were relocated from the worst-affected areas and given an ex-gratia payment of 1.5 lakh rupees each, plus a rent allowance of 4,000 rupees per month for six months.
The rehabilitation process has been widely criticized as inadequate. As of mid-2024 — more than 16 months after the crisis — Down to Earth reported that no concrete rehabilitation policy had been established. Many evacuated families had moved back into their damaged homes because they had no alternative. The government was paying compensation for buildings but not for land, and no clarity existed on permanent resettlement sites.
The causes
The geology is the foundation of the problem: Joshimath sits on ancient landslide debris, not bedrock. But the acceleration of subsidence is attributed to multiple human factors layered on top of that vulnerability.
The NTPC Tapovan-Vishnugad Hydroelectric Project is the most discussed contributor. This 520 MW project involves tunnelling through the mountain directly below Joshimath. In 2009, the tunnel boring machine punctured water-bearing strata underground. Experts warned at the time that this sudden, large-scale de-watering of the rock strata had the potential to initiate ground subsidence — essentially, removing the groundwater that was helping to hold the loose material in place. NTPC has denied that their project caused the subsidence. The official investigation reports have been ambiguous on the question.
The Char Dham road-widening project, which involves blasting and heavy machinery operations on the highway approaching and passing through Joshimath, added construction vibrations and altered drainage patterns to an already stressed slope.
Uncontrolled urban development over decades — hotels, shops, multi-story buildings constructed without adequate geological assessment on a substrate that the 1976 report had already flagged as unsuitable for heavy construction.
Inadequate drainage is a factor that multiple studies highlight. Surface water and sewage flowing through and under the town accelerate the erosion of the loose substrate material.
What Joshimath means for the corridor
Joshimath is not a random hill town. It is the hinge of the entire upper Chamoli economy. It is the last major town before Badrinath — the last fuel stop, the last ATM, the natural overnight halt for pilgrims and tourists. The Narsingh temple in Joshimath houses the Badrinath idol from November to May, making it the winter seat of one of Hinduism's holiest shrines. It is the gateway to the Valley of Flowers, Hemkund Sahib, and the Auli ski slopes.
What happens to Joshimath affects everything that depends on access through it. In the weeks following the January 2023 crisis, the highway above Joshimath was closed for assessment. Pilgrim bookings were cancelled. The accommodation landscape shifted as several hotels on the main road were damaged or demolished. Some tour operators began routing travellers through Pipalkoti or Chamoli instead, adding distance and time.
The 2023 and 2024 pilgrimage seasons proceeded — Badrinath remained open, the highway stayed passable — but with a changed character. The pilgrim numbers were lower than pre-crisis projections, and the town itself carries visible scars: streets where buildings are marked with red X symbols and padlocked, foundations where houses once stood, a population living with persistent uncertainty about the ground beneath their feet.
Where things stand now
As of early 2025, scientists at the Wadia Institute describe Joshimath as still in the danger zone. The slope is moving at an extremely slow rate, but it is moving. Continuous monitoring is ongoing. The consensus among geologists is that the underlying conditions have not been resolved — the ancient landslide debris that forms the town's foundation has not been stabilized, and heavy rainfall during the monsoon season could trigger renewed acceleration.
The NTPC project remains under the mountain. The Char Dham highway project continues. The town continues to function as a transit point for Badrinath-bound pilgrims. Life goes on, in the way it does in places where the alternative to going on is not tenable.
Joshimath is worth visiting. The Narsingh temple is genuinely extraordinary. The town's setting, at the confluence of valleys with views up toward the high peaks, is among the finest on the corridor. But what happened in January 2023 is not over. The ground has not stopped moving. The people who live there — the families who have been in this town for generations — deserve to have that acknowledged by everyone who passes through.