Joshimath 'Sinking': Massive cracks threaten Shankaracharya's Jyotirmath

Jyotirmath Hindu monastery, which is one of the four institutions established by 8th-century Vedic scholar Adi Shankaracharya in Joshimath, has been severely impacted by the soil subsidence that has threatened to sink the gateway to the revered Hindu pilgrimage sites like Hemkund Sahib and Badrinath. 

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Asianet News Network, which is covering the situation at Ground Zero in Joshimath, spoke to the Shankaracharya Math's chief priest Swami Vishwapriyananda who showed the extent of damage that had been caused in the last week. 

"This is where Shankaracharya did his 'tapasya'. It is historically precious. But now you can see its situation. The cracks have increased in the last week. There is a hydroelectric project close by -- the Rishi Ganga-Dhauli project. Around a year and a year-and-a-half ago, tragedy struck there after a glacier burst brought in a massive volume of water. At that point in time, we felt small tremors. But now, the situation has worsened in the last week. The situation is very serious." Swami Vishwapriyananda told Asianet News.

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