'Sinking' Joshimath: Govt Decides to Raze Damaged Buildings As More Houses, Roads Develop Cracks | Key Points

The crisis situation in the ‘sinking’ border town of Joshimath in Uttarakhand remains critical as more houses, roads and buildings continue to develop cracks.

“Every minute is important,” the Uttarakhand Chief Secretary S S Sandhu said on Monday as red crosses came up on hundreds of unsafe structures and many residents continue to stay put despite the alarming danger.

Till now, the subsidence-affected homes rose to 678, with 27 more families evacuated to safety today.

In total, 82 families have been forced to leave their homes and move to safe locations in the town, a bulletin from the Disaster Management Authority in Chamoli said. On Monday, 68 more houses saw cracks.

The town is located a height of over 6,000 feet where several structures are deemed unsafe for living.

Here are the latest updates of the ongoing crisis in Joshimath

????Teams Deployed:  Till now, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed for relief and rescue efforts at the site. Apart from this, a team of the the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is also “on standby” to assist the local administration, a senior official told PTI.

????Experts on ground: The NDRF teams reached the location on Saturday. “Experts are on ground and administration will take action as per their directions. NDRF will associate accordingly,” a spokesperson said.

????Other teams: 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 situations and give recommendations, the PMO said.

????Over 200 houses red-crossed: Over 200 houses have been declared unsafe for living by the district administration.

????Locals asked to shift: People living in these houses have been either asked to shift to a temporary relief centres or a rented accommodation.

????Monetary assistance to families: To shift from their houses, each family will get assistance of Rs 4000 per month for the next six months from the Uttarakhand government.

????Temporary relief structures: There are 16 places in Joshimath where temporary relief centres have been built for the affected people. Apart from them, 19 more hotels, guest houses and school buildings have been identified for the affected people in Joshimath and 20 outside the town in Pipalkoti.

????Town divided into 3 zones: Joshimath has been divided into three zones based on the magnitude of possible danger- ‘Danger’, ‘Buffer’, and ‘Completely Safe’ zones.

????PMO’s tasks: To tackle Uttarakhand’s Joshimath crisis, clear tasks have been given to a team of experts from seven central institutions after a top-level review by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Sunday evening.

The top priority is to shift people from dangerous areas over a stretch of 350 meters in Joshimath to safe locations, including making pre-fabricated houses for these people.

????Congress says declare situation as national calamity: The Congress on Monday demanded that the crisis in Joshimath should be declared a national calamity and all developmental projects in the area should be halted till a report by experts and environmentalists is submitted on the issue.

????Man-made disaster, says Congress: The opposition party described it as a man-made disaster and sought enhanced compensation for each house affected due to the “unbridled development” in the area. It asked the government to preserve the old Joshimath town and develop a new town to rehabilitate the residents.

????PM Modi dials U’khand CM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday 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.

????Joshimath’s Geography: The town part of the Chamoli district, is located at a height of more than 6,000 feet and apart from the local population, it is a garrison town with units of the Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Garhwal scouts who are present in the area for their primary task to guard the India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC) that is about 100 kms from away.

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