New Delhi/Dehradun: While relief and rescue efforts have been stepped up after Joshimath was declared a “landslide and landslide-affected zone”, the district administration on Monday said that basic amenities at relief camps set up for the affected people were being inspected. Is. District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said, “The administration is constantly monitoring the basic facilities in the relief camps arranged for the affected people in Joshimath and all possible help is being provided to the affected people.”
Khurana said that immediate inspection will be done by the administration if needed.
According to the Chamoli District Disaster Management Authority, 603 buildings in Joshimath town have developed cracks so far. A total of 68 families have been temporarily displaced, officials said, Chamoli District Disaster Management Authority said, “Under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, Hotel Mount View and Malari Inn are prohibited for operation and accommodation till further orders.” has given.” in a statement.
In Joshimath city area, 229 rooms have been marked as temporarily habitable, with an estimated capacity of 1271. The administration has also ordered immediate evacuation of residents from areas deemed highly prone to landslides and unsafe, after considering the risk to life and property. , under section 33 and 34 of the Disaster Management Act.
The district administration on Sunday distributed the necessary assistance amounting to essential household items to the affected families. While the cause of the apparent subsidence in the holy city is unclear, DM Banerjee, an emeritus scientist at the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), attributed the current situation to the construction of roads and tunnels for a nearby hydroelectric project.
“Joshimath is part of the Lesser Himalayas, the rocks are of Precambrian age and the area is in seismic zone 4. Also, people should not have built houses on this land, especially not big ones with 3-4 storeys,” Banerjee said on Sunday. told ANI.
PM Modi reviewed the situation
The Center on Sunday asserted that the immediate priority is the safety of people and asked experts to prepare short and long-term plans for protection and rehabilitation. Amid a growing sense of urgency, senior officials of the Uttarakhand government, including Chief Secretary Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, DGP Ashok Kumar and Secretary to Chief Minister R Meenakshi Sundaram, visited the worst-affected Manohar Bagh, Singhdhar and Marwari areas and asked people to temporarily requested to relocate. Relief Center.
Officials said 13 more families living in houses with major cracks were shifted to safer places by the administration on Sunday. The Chamoli District Disaster Management Office said the number of families evacuated to temporary relief centers has now gone up to 68.
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 the residents and assured them of necessary assistance. The Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand has said that the ground situation has been assessed by the state and district authorities in collaboration with central experts and the affected families are being shifted to safer places.
NDRF, SDRF teams in Joshimath
One team of National Disaster Response Force and four teams of State Disaster Response Force have already reached Joshimath. PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister who conducted the meeting, stressed that the immediate priority should be the safety of the people living in the affected area and added that the state government should establish a clear and continuous communication channel with the residents.
Secretary Border Management and member of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will visit Uttarakhand on Monday and take stock of the situation
A team of experts from 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.
Experts from several 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 a “whole of government” approach. ,
A day after CM Dhami directed immediate evacuation of around 600 affected families, he had visited Joshimath on Saturday to assess the ground situation.
National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad and Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun have been asked to study the Joshimath area through satellite imagery and submit a detailed report with photographs. A petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the Center to set up a committee headed by a retired judge to look into the Joshimath submergence issue and rehabilitate the affected families.
Earlier, a sadhu had approached the Supreme Court demanding that the Joshimath crisis be declared a national disaster. Experts have claimed that the landslide in Joshimath was mainly caused by the Tapovan Vishnugarh Hydro Power Project of the National Thermal Power Corporation and it is a very grim reminder that people are playing with the environment to such an extent that it is irreversible. Is.