Joshimath sinking: Relief and rescue efforts were intensified in Joshimath after it was declared a landslide and subsidence-hit zone, with the Centre stressing that the immediate priority is the safety of people and asking experts to prepare short and long-term plans for conservation and rehabilitation. Amid a mounting sense of urgency, senior Uttarakhand government officials including Chief Secretary Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, DGP Ashok Kumar and Secretary to the Chief Minister R Meenakshi Sundaram visited the worst-hit Manohar Bagh, Singdhar and Marwari areas and appealed to people to shift to temporary relief centres.
Officials said 13 more families living in houses with huge cracks were moved by the administration to safe locations on Sunday. The number of families evacuated to temporary relief centres now stands at 68, Chamoli district disaster management office said. The number of houses developing cracks in the town has risen from 561 to 610, Garhwal Commissioner Sushil Kumar said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and reviewed the situation, including the steps taken so far for the safety and rehabilitation of residents, and assured him of necessary assistance. As authorities rush to save the sinking town, let's take a look at 5 points to understand the problem:
- Joshimath town was built on the debris of a landslide, therefore, its foundation had never been too strong.
- The flow of the Alaknanda river is also damaging the foundation of the town from beneath.
- The construction of a tunnel under the town of Joshimath is also being seen as a possible reason for this disaster.
- The construction of the Chardham all-weather road bypassing Joshimath.
- Blasts are being conducted on hills near the town for construction activities.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand chief secretary has said that state and district officials with the support of central experts have assessed the situation on the ground and informed that a strip of land with a width of around 350 metres is affected, the Prime Minister's Office said on Sunday.
Central government agencies and experts are assisting Uttarakhand to prepare plans to deal with the Joshimath situation and the immediate priority is the safety of the people, it said.
A team of experts from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Institute of Disaster Management, Geological Survey of India, IIT Roorkee, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Institute of Hydrology and Central Building Research Institute will study the situation and give recommendations, the PMO said.
Central government agencies and experts are assisting Uttarakhand to prepare short, medium and long-term plans to deal with the Joshimath situation, they added.
Experts from a range of central institutions - NDMA, NIDM, Geological Survey of India, IIT Roorkee, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Institute of Hydrology and Central Building Research Institute should work closely with Uttarakhand in the spirit of "Whole of Government" approach.
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