New Delhi: After January, fresh cracks are once again appearing in Joshimath town, raising fear among the residents of the Uttarakhand town.According to the New Indian Express, a new walkway built by the municipality in the town has also started submerging.Locals say new cracks have started appearing again in the land submergence-affected areas of Joshimath and a new crack has also surfaced on the Joshimath-Auli road.The cracks first appeared in January in the town’s Manohar Bagh ward, and spread to the Singhdhar ward. In January, residents complained of cracks on the walls of houses, fields and roads splitting open, and some oozing brown and muddy water.Residents of Joshimath blame the excavation work being undertaken as part of the construction of the Tapovan Vishnugad hydel power project – a 520-megawatt dam – as one cause for the sinking of their town. The construction of the Char Dham project – an ambitious 900 km-long all-weather road through the state to promote religious tourism – is also a cause, according to experts.However, this time around the incessant rains in Uttarakhand for the last 15 days have also contributed to the latest episode of cracks. “The situation has become even more fragile during the rainy season and the administration and the government should take steps on a war footing towards Joshimath,” said Ved Prakash Pant.Highways in the state are the worst affected due to rains. Badrinath National Highway near Kalimati was damaged in landslides near Gauchar and Kameda. The authorities concerned closed a total of 362 roads, including four national highways across the state, to avert accidents and to carry out repair works.The rains have also badly affected the movement on the Joshimath-Malari highway, which connects to the China border area. Chamoli district authorities said the road is in bad condition at several points, and vehicular movement is being affected due to debris coming into the Tamak drain near Jumma village every day. The movement on the highway was suspended for about six hours on the highway, even bringing the movement of the army, ITBP as well as local vehicles to a standstill, the authorities added.According to the state disaster response force, a 32-year-old man was swept away in a drain in the Raipur area of Dehradun on Tuesday evening due to a strong current of rainwater. The local police and SDRF are searching for the youth.The Met department has predicted heavy rains with lightning in many areas of Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Bageshwar, Champawat, and Nainital districts. It warned against traveling on the highways, and said a journey should be planned only after obtaining accurate information about the weather.