Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered the immediate evacuation of nearly 600 families living in houses that have developed huge cracks and are in danger of submerging Joshimath city. He also reviewed the situation in the sinking city with the officials through video conference.
Talking to media persons here, the Chief Minister said, “Saving lives is our first priority. The authorities have been asked to shift around 600 families living in endangered houses in Joshimath to safer places.”
“We are also working on short and long term plans to deal with the situation in Joshimath,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
CM Dhami will come Joshimath Will meet the affected people on Saturday and hold a meeting with the officials.
He further informed that a team of experts along with Garhwal Commissioner Sushil Kumar and Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha are camping on the ground to continuously monitor the situation.
PTI reported that the Chief Minister also directed that rehabilitation of people from the affected areas should be done expeditiously and medical treatment facilities should be made available and arrangements should also be made to airlift people.
Dhami said that immediate action plan as well as long term action plan should be prepared and work on both should be started properly, procedures to be simplified to expedite work on treatment of danger zones, sewer and drainage needed.
Hundreds of houses have developed huge cracks while many have caved in.
Officials said that around 50 families have been shifted to safer places. Besides them, 60 families living in the colony meant for employees of the Vishnu Prayag Hydroelectric Project have been shifted elsewhere, said its director Pankaj Chauhan.
The Marwari region, where an aquifer had burst three days ago, has been worst affected as water from it is continuously receding.
All construction activities Mega projects like the Char Dham all-weather road and the National Thermal Power Corporation’s hydel project have been put on hold until further orders on the demand of the residents. Rishi Prasad Sati, former chairman of the local municipality, said that the Auli ropeway, which is Asia’s largest, has been stopped after a huge crack appeared beneath it.
He said that the land has been sinking for more than a year, but in the last fortnight the problem has become more serious.
(With PTI inputs)
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