How unscientific mining is pushing Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar toward Joshimath-style disaster

Representative image

Bageshwar, a town in Uttarakhand, is confronting severe risk due to rampant and unscientific mining operations, a government-appointed panel has cautioned.

The committee, comprising representatives from the Geological Survey of India, the Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre, the Department of Geology and Mining and the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, has submitted its findings to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) following an extensive survey of mining activity in the region, according to a TimesNow report.

Their investigation covered 61 soapstone mines across Bageshwar, Kanda and Dugnakuri tehsils. The experts identified dangerous excavation methods - most notably, vertical cutting without stepped benches and indiscriminate dumping of mining debris into natural water drains.

Additionally, mining activities have crept perilously close to residential areas, agricultural fields and natural springs. According to the panel, these practices are reportedly responsible for growing instability in the landscape, depletion of crucial spring water and instances of land subsidence.

The panel further highlighted that large segments of Bageshwar district lie in seismic zone V, which is the most hazardous category for earthquake vulnerability.

The committee drew sharp parallels to the crisis that struck Jyotirmath (formerly Joshimath) in January 2023, where over 800 homes developed structural cracks because of uncontrolled construction in a fragile geological area. The experts asserted, “A Jyotirmath-type crisis is in the making if the current practices continue.”

Citing a lack of adequate documentation on slope modifications and an absence of systematic water source mapping, the report underscored the difficulty in enforcing meaningful regulation, as relayed by TOI.

The findings were particularly stark in Kanda-Kanyal valley, where mining activity has been linked with recurring landslides, property damage, shrinking crop yields and the drying and pollution of natural springs. Satellite imagery confirmed that ground movement is already underway near active mines, TOI noted.

In some cases, excavation has taken place within close proximity to houses and farms, in violation of environmental regulations, raising the spectre of catastrophic slope failures, particularly during the monsoon season.

The gravity of these warnings comes in the wake of the Joshimath disaster, which forced hundreds of families to abandon homes after the earth beneath them gave way in a dramatic land subsidence episode.

A follow-up analysis revealed that between December 2022 and December 2024, sections of Joshimath sank by more than 30 cm. The situation’s persistence underscores the vulnerability of Himalayan towns to unchecked development and geological mismanagement.