NTPCs Hydel Project Not Behind Sinking Of Joshimath: Power Ministry

Joshimath: According to officials of the National Thermal Power Corporation, the Tapovan project is not to blame for the Joshimath ground subsidence.

Despite the residents blaming the tunnel for the cracks in their homes, NTPC Tapovan Chief General Manager Rajendra Prasad Ahirwar remarked that as the tunnel does not pass through Joshimath, there is little chance of soil subsidence as a result of its development.

Furthermore, he stated, the area where the blasting will take place is 11 kilometres away from Joshimath.

According to Bhuvnesh Kumar, Additional GM of Geology at NTPC, neither water nor blasting is currently taking place in the tunnel.

Tunnelling would have been affected first if it had resulted in soil subsidence and house cracks, he said.

According to Kumar, soil subsidence has long been a problem in the city and is unrelated to the tunnel being excavated by a boring machine.

It was “wrong,” according to both officials, to connect land subsidence to the NTPC project.

According to a senior official, the tunnel is being built under “a capable rock” that has no impact on the surrounding rock mass.

The hydroelectric project shouldn’t be connected to the current state of the Uttarakhand hill town, according to Ahirwar, who noted that some project-related signs have been placed up.