New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday expressed concern over the plight of people in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath where hundreds of houses have developed cracks and urged the state government to take care of the affected people and ensure their safety in this cold weather. Where is it? “The images coming from Joshimath in Uttarakhand are horrifying… I am deeply disturbed. Wide cracks in houses, water seepage, cracks in the ground and sinking of roads are a matter of great concern… Bhagwati temple is about to collapse due to landslides. For,” he said in a Facebook post in Hindi. He also said, “The people of Joshimath are facing a terrible crisis today due to continuous digging and unplanned construction on the hills going against nature.”
He called upon the Uttarakhand government to “take care of the people in this harsh weather and make arrangements for their immediate rehabilitation and ensure the safety of the temple”.
The former Congress president said, “In this bitter cold, this calamity has left people’s homes desolate. I appeal to all Congress workers out there to help people at the earliest and take them to safer places.”
Joshimath, the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib and international skiing destination Auli, is facing a major challenge due to land subsidence, Joshimath is slowly sinking, houses, roads and fields develop huge cracks are happening Local people said that many houses have caved in.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered immediate evacuation of 600 families living in at-risk houses. He visited the city on Saturday to take stock of the ground situation. He also met the affected people and assured them of all possible help. The central government on Friday constituted a panel to “expeditely study” the landslide incident in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath and its impact.