A Public Works Department (PWD) employee records the widening of cracks in a field next to residences marked unsafe to stay in, after cracks developed in the houses in the Manohar Bagh area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 14, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A labourer carries a fridge belonging to Ganesh Devi Rawat, 68, who vacated her house after cracks developed inside the building, following rapid urban expansion, in Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 14, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Construction of a railway line and infrastructure work is photographed from the village Maroda, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 17, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Bikram Singh Chauhan, 49, along with some labourers, loads his family belongings onto a truck after cracks developed inside the house he and his family rented in the Manohar Bagh area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 14, 2023. Chauhan works as a day labourer in Gauchar, a town around 80km from Joshimath, while his wife Geeta Devi, 40, was staying in Joshimath in a rental house with her youngest child, a son. They had moved from Lambagad, a village, to Joshimath eight years previously for their kids' education. After the cracks developed in the house, they moved back to Lambagad. "We will face the same issue of educating our kids again," he said. "Where do we go now?" REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A child stands next to cracks in the walls of her grandmother's house, near Maroda, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 17, 2023. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to carve roads and rail deep into the Himalayan mountains is smoothing the way for millions of Hindu and Sikh pilgrims to visit a clutch of religious sites that include the source of the Ganges river. The strategy has run into trouble, however, with some works halted by local authorities in the face of protests by residents after hundreds of houses were damaged by subsidence along the routes. The buildings and the land beneath houses had been weakened - geologists, residents and officials say - by rapid construction in the geologically unstable mountains. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Broken windows and cracks are seen inside a sports centre, which was part of a residential complex for workers at Jaypee, a construction and power company, in Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 15, 2023. After the cracks appeared in the complex, the residents were moved out. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A large crack divides the floor of a badminton court floor, which was part of a residential complex for workers at Jaypee, a construction and power company, in Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 15, 2023. After the cracks appeared in the complex following rapid urban expansion, the residents were moved out. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Jaswant Singh Butola (R), 55, looks at houses which have been vacated due to damage that he says developed after infrastructure works began close to the village, while standing next to his neighbour Munni Devi, 55, in Maroda, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 17, 2023. "I have been living here for past 40 years," Devi said. "The whole night the work goes on below on the railway line and the cement from the house keeps falling down. We live in a lot of risk." REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

The 520 MW Tapovan-Vishnugad hydro power project, built by the government's largest power producer, NTPC, is seen at Tapovan near Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Rama Devi (R), 88, cries as one her neighbours, Ganesh Devi Rawat, 68, gets ready to vacate her home after cracks developed inside the building, following rapid urban expansion, in the Manohar Bagh area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 14, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A man works at a makeshift street shop in front of a placard, directed at the government's largest power producer, NTPC, which reads "NTPC Go Back", which had been put up by the local residents, in Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 14, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

An earthen pot used in Hindu rituals lies between the cracked and damaged walls of a house in the Singdhar area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 13, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Residents protest against NTPC, the government's largest power producer, at a local administrative building, after cracks developed inside their houses following rapid urban expansion, in Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 13, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A worker stands next to an excavator as it removes stones flanking the national highway ahead of road widening, below houses once belonging to people who have since been moved out and received financial compensation, around 30km from Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 15, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Damaged walls crumble at a temple near a house in the Singdhar area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 13, 2023. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to carve roads and rail deep into the Himalayan mountains is smoothing the way for millions of Hindu and Sikh pilgrims to visit a clutch of religious sites that include the source of the Ganges river. The strategy has run into trouble, however, with some works halted by local authorities in the face of protests by residents after hundreds of houses were damaged by subsidence along the routes. The buildings and the land beneath houses had been weakened - geologists, residents and officials say - by rapid construction in the geologically unstable mountains. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Diya, 15, combs her sister's hair as their mother Rajeshwari Devi, 34, holds three-year-old Meghana's hand outside their house, which developed cracks following rapid urban expansion, in the Gandhinagar area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 16, 2023. Devi, along with her family, sleeps in a municipal building converted to a night shelter and only spends time in their house during the day. Devi has four daughters, of which, two live with her, while the other two stay with a relative due to the deterioration of her house. "My father-in-law had gold jewellery made for me, which I used to secure a loan to build this house, which has now developed cracks," she said. "My husband is a day labourer, and we took a lot of pain to build this two-room house with a small veranda. I was so happy on that day." REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A crack lines the wall of 68-year-old Ganesh Devi Rawat's kitchen as she gets ready to vacate her home, after cracks developed inside the building, following rapid urban expansion, in the Manohar Bagh area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 14, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Ganesh Devi Rawat (4th-L), 68, helps a labourer move her belongings as she gets ready to leave her home, after cracks developed inside the building, following rapid local urban expansion, in the Manohar Bagh area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 14, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Sunita Devi, 35, cries as she meets Hindu priest Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati (not pictured), Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath, who listened to and comforted the residents at a municipal building converted to a night shelter, where Devi comes with her family to stay overnight, after cracks developed inside her house following rapid urban expansion, in the Gandhinagar area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Rajeshwari Devi, 34, cries as she holds her daughter Meghana, 3, at their house, which developed cracks following rapid urban expansion, in the Gandhinagar area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 16, 2023. Devi, along with her family, sleeps in a municipal building converted to a night shelter and only spends time in their house during the day. Devi has four daughters, of which, two live with her, while the other two stay with a relative due to the deterioration of her house. "My father-in-law had gold jewellery made for me, which I used to secure a loan to build this house, which has now developed cracks," she said. "My husband is a day labourer, and we took a lot of pain to build this two-room house with a small veranda. I was so happy on that day." REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Anshul, 12, holds his cousin Meghana, 3, while Meghana's mother Rajeshwari Devi, 34, sits inside a municipal building converted into a night shelter, after cracks developed inside their house following rapid urban expansion, in the Gandhinagar area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 15, 2023. Devi, along with her family, sleeps in the municipal building converted to a night shelter and only spends time in their house during the day. Devi has four daughters, of which, two live with her, while the other two stay with a relative due to the deterioration of her house. In the day she attends protests against the NTPC at their administrative office, while Diya, her elder daughter, takes care of her 3-year-old sister Meghana. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Bikram Singh Chauhan, 49, looks out of his house in the village Lambagad, around 30km from Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 15, 2023. Chauhan works as a day labourer in Gauchar, a town around 80km from Joshimath, while his wife Geeta Devi, 40, was staying in Joshimath in a rental house with her youngest child, a son. They had moved from Lambagad to Joshimath eight years previously for their kids' education. After the cracks developed in the house, they moved back to Lambagad. "We will face the same issue of educating our kids again," he said. "Where do we go now?" REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Dawn breaks in the early morning in Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 14, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Open-air cable cars, used to take tourists to the local ski slopes, pass by Auli, a hill station in Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 15, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Fractures line the wall of a house, that was vacated after cracks developed inside the building, in the Manohar Bagh area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 14, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Workers for the National Disaster Response Force demolish a hotel after cracks developed on the property, in Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 13, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Mukesh Khanduri, 37, has tea outside his house which overlooks the highway, in Bahuguna Nagar, Karnaprayag in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 17, 2023. He says his house developed cracks following the road widening work nearby, under the Char Dham Highway project. "People won't exist here anymore. Only the roads will," he said. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A labourer carries a container belonging to Ganesh Devi Rawat, 68, who vacated her house after cracks developed inside the building, following rapid urban expansion, in Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 14, 2023. In January, cracks developed in more than 800 homes in Joshimath, 100 km from the border with China. Some houses crumbled completely, forcing hundreds of occupants to evacuate. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

A television plays on the wall at the house of Rajeshwari Devi, 34, which developed cracks following rapid urban expansion, in the Gandhinagar area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 16, 2023. Devi, along with her family, sleeps in a municipal building converted to a night shelter and only spends time in their house during the day. Devi has four daughters, of which, two live with her, while the other two stay with a relative due to the deterioration of her house. "My father-in-law had gold jewellery made for me, which I used to secure a loan to build this house, which has now developed cracks," she said. "My husband is a day labourer, and we took a lot of pain to build this two-room house with a small veranda. I was so happy on that day." REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Sunita Devi (2nd-L), 35, cries as she meets Hindu priest Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath, who listened to and comforted the residents at a municipal building converted into a night shelter, where Devi comes with her family to stay overnight, after cracks developed inside their house following rapid urban expansion, in the Gandhinagar area of Joshimath, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis SEARCH "FADNAVIS HIMALAYAS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.