Uttarakhand State Chief Announces Relief Measures For 'Sinking Town' Joshimath
16:25 07.01.2023 (Updated: 16:39 07.01.2023)
© AFP 2023 AJAY BHATT
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Joshimath is only 50 kilometers away from India's border with China and serves as the gateway to Badrinath, one of the most sacred sites in Hinduism.
Uttarakhand state chief Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday held a meeting with family members of those affected in the "sinking town" of Joshimath after several houses and a temple collapsed there the previous day.
Dhami, who arrived in Joshimath on Saturday morning, also conducted an aerial survey before carrying out a ground inspection in the town whose residents are scared of a looming disaster.
The Dhami-led BJP government of the hill state has ordered an immediate evacuation of nearly 600 families, or around 3,000 people, comprising at least 10 percent of the population of the town after their houses developed cracks and began leaning in one direction because of land subsidence.
In addition to houses, the strategically important Joshimath-Malari road that connects India with the China border has developed huge cracks in multiple places due to the same issue.
Operations on the Auli ropeway, the largest in Asia and which connects Joshimath to the highly popular ski resort of Auli, have been suspended after a large crater developed below it.
"Saving lives is our first priority. Officials have been asked to shift around 600 families living in endangered houses in Joshimath to safe locations," Dhami told reporters in Joshimath.
He further informed that he has ordered the concerned agencies to work 24×7 to fix the sewer, drainage, and danger zones. Dhami stated that provisions for airlifting people from the town were also being made at the earliest.
A disaster control room is being set up and the state will deploy a sufficient number of disaster response force personnel in the risk-prone area.
Medical treatment facilities and helicopter services are also being activated to help in case of health emergencies.
Apart from the steps taken by the state authorities, the federal government has formed an expert group, comprising geoscientists to find out the causes behind the "sinking" of Joshimath and provide long-term remedial measures.
All major projects around the town have been stopped. These include the suspension of work on the under-construction Chardham highway and the hydel projects being executed by the state-run National Thermal Power Corporation Limited.
Dhami, who arrived in Joshimath on Saturday morning, also conducted an aerial survey before carrying out a ground inspection in the town whose residents are scared of a looming disaster.
The Dhami-led BJP government of the hill state has ordered an immediate evacuation of nearly 600 families, or around 3,000 people, comprising at least 10 percent of the population of the town after their houses developed cracks and began leaning in one direction because of land subsidence.
In addition to houses, the strategically important Joshimath-Malari road that connects India with the China border has developed huge cracks in multiple places due to the same issue.
Operations on the Auli ropeway, the largest in Asia and which connects Joshimath to the highly popular ski resort of Auli, have been suspended after a large crater developed below it.
"Saving lives is our first priority. Officials have been asked to shift around 600 families living in endangered houses in Joshimath to safe locations," Dhami told reporters in Joshimath.
He further informed that he has ordered the concerned agencies to work 24×7 to fix the sewer, drainage, and danger zones. Dhami stated that provisions for airlifting people from the town were also being made at the earliest.
A disaster control room is being set up and the state will deploy a sufficient number of disaster response force personnel in the risk-prone area.
Medical treatment facilities and helicopter services are also being activated to help in case of health emergencies.
Apart from the steps taken by the state authorities, the federal government has formed an expert group, comprising geoscientists to find out the causes behind the "sinking" of Joshimath and provide long-term remedial measures.
All major projects around the town have been stopped. These include the suspension of work on the under-construction Chardham highway and the hydel projects being executed by the state-run National Thermal Power Corporation Limited.
