Joshimath sinking: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to take stock of the extent of damage in the 'sinking' city, Joshimath. Meanwhile, Joshimath has been declared a landslide-subsidence zone. An official said that affected families are being shifted to safe locations. The review meeting was attended by the cabinet secretary, other senior officials of the central government and members of the National Disaster Management Authority. It is to be noted that Joshimath is the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib and the international skiing destination Auli.
Here is what we know so far:
- Cracks have been observed on 603 buildings while 68 families have already been relocated.
- Joshimath has been declared a landslide-subsidence zone. Land subsidence is a gradual settling or sudden sinking of the Earth’s surface owing to subsurface movement of earth materials.
- One team of NDRF (National Disaster Relief Force) and 4 teams of SDRF (State Disaster Relief Force) already reached Joshimath.
- Government agencies and experts are assisting state govt to prepare short, medium and long term plans.
- Secretary Border Management and Members of NDMA to visit Uttarakhand tomorrow (January 9) and assess the situation.
- Team of experts from National Disaster Management Authority, 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 to study and give recommendations.
- The state government will pay Rs 4,000 per month for up to six months to those who want to move to rented accommodations.
- Joshimath falls under the high risk seismic 'Zone-V', which according to the seismic zoning map of the country is the most active region.
- Just a day earlier, Uttrakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited Joshimath to assess the situation on the ground, a day after he directed the immediate evacuation of around 600 affected families.
- Earlier, the Chamoli administration put a ban on all construction activities in and around the 'sinking' town on the demand of the residents.
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