Joshimath sinking: Uma Bharti says she warned of 'irreversible loss' years ago; ‘Vikas aur vinash…'

Uma Bharti reached Joshimath and said she is scared that policymakers will eat up the Himalayas and the Uttarakhand. "Policymakers who are in Delhi have given a new name to such projects which can be done fast -- low hanging fruit, fruits which can be eaten fast. I am scared that these policymakers will eat Uttarakhand one day,"

Former Union minister and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti said development and destruction can't go hand in hand as she reached Joshimath at a time the hill town of Uttarakhand is facing an unprecedented challenge of land subsidence with over 700 houses damaged. Blasting New Delhi-based policymakers who consider the mountains, the Ganga as 'low hanging fruit', Uma Bharti said she is scared that these policymakers will one day eat Uttarakhand, the Ganga, and the Himalayas.

Uma Bharti said policymakers in Delhi consider projects in Himalayas, on the Ganga as low-hanging fruit.

“Policymakers who are in Delhi have given a new name to such projects which can be done fast -- low hanging fruit, fruits which can be eaten fast. I am scared that these policymakers will eat Uttarakhand one day," the BJP leader said.

Uma Bharti said she moved the Supreme Court in 2017 against the NTPC project in which she had said that the project would create 'irreversible loss'. At that time, the affidavit did not get the support of the Centre, Uma Bharti said. "Then the Reni Gaon incident happened. I said at that time that this indicates that Joshimath will also face the same disaster. Then I was told that the Prime Minister's Office blasted the officers here and PMO was sensitive regarding the issue. There are minutes of the PMO meeting where officers were slammed. Then Joshimath was not sinking," Uma Bharti said.

"After all this, a new expert committee was set up which gave go-ahead to projects which are 50% complete. And this (NTPC) project fell under this. Now experts will say what is the role of the NTPC project in the crisis. I won't say anything before that," Uma Bharti said.

Uma Bharti made an appeal to Sonia Gandhi from Joshimath and said this is not time for blame game as the immediate task in hand is to evacuate the areas. "Development and destruction can't go hand in hand. Development and trust will co-exist. Development, human life, environment all these will go hand in hand but not development and destruction," Uma Bharti said.

"Joshimath has weathered many challenges and this too shall pass in the leadership of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who is like a sage and PM Narendra Modi who got blessings from the Himalayas," Uma Bharti said.

NTPC project in Joshimath : Tapovan hydel

As NTPC's Tapovan Vishnugad Hydepl Project is being blamed for the crisis in Joshimath, NTPC has issued a statement denying any link between Joshimath's land subsidence and its project. It said the tunnel of the Tapovan Vishnugad Hydel project is not passing under Joshimath. "NTPC wants to inform with full responsibility that the tunnel has nothing to do with the landslide happening in Joshimath city. In such an odd situation, the company expresses its sympathy and sensitivity to the people of Joshimath city," the statement, dated January 5, said. The work of the project has been suspended till further notice. When the Chmoli incident (glacier blast) took place in 2021, Uma Bharti said she protested against power projects on the Ganges.