Uttarakhand CM orders urgent steps to rehabilitate residents from 'sinking' Joshimath

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday conducted a high-level meeting to address the issue of land subsidence in the Himalayan town, Joshimath.

The town is gradually 'sinking' due to high seismic activity in the area, and this has resulted in cracks in hundreds of houses. As many as 560 houses have developed cracks and their residents have been relocated to safer places as a temporary measure.

In the high-level meeting, which was attended by Uttarakhand's Chief Secretary, District Magistrate and officials from SDRF among others, CM Dhami gave instructions to immediately set up a rehabilitation centre. In addition to the temporary settlement, he also instructed that areas falling under danger zone must be immediately evacuated. He further ordered the formulation of the sector and zonal war plans along with an order to activate the disaster control room without delay.

"As a measure of precaution, a team of NDRF has been deployed in Joshimath. It is important to stay alert as the area witnesses land subsidence," LN Mishra, Chief Development Officer in Joshimath's Chamoli told ANI. Riddhima Agrawal, IG, SDRF, revealed that a platoon of 50 jawans has been deployed and four more units have been alerted for rescue operations in Joshimath. She further said that as many as 150 jawans will be on standby in alert mode at any given time to carry out rescue operations if needed. 

For those relocating to a safer location, the Uttarakhand government has announced to grant Rs 4,000 for rent for the next six months. CM Dhami, on the other hand, will visit Joshimath on January 7 to take stock of the situation. 

Reason for sinking of Joshimath 

Joshimath is located at a height of 6,000 feet in the Chamoli district and is said to have been established on the debris that accumulated after several landslides. Since the town is on the route to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, a lot of hotels and homestays have been constructed to cater to tourists.

One of the major reasons why the town is sinking is heavy construction work and deforestation that was caused by to erect of buildings in the district. This takes back to a ground survey conducted by the Mishra Committee in 1976, wherein the experts of the panel had warned not to remove boulders or carry out digging for construction purposes. The Committee's report also warned against the relentless cutting of trees or else face consequences.

This volatile base of the town is also the reason why cracks are being noticed all across the town due to the water seeping from the ground.