ENSURE TEMPORARY rehabilitation centres at safe locations, aid camps and medical facilities, including facilities for airlift operations; evacuate danger zones; activate the disaster control room immediately; draw up drainage plans in less-affected areas.
These were some of the key directions issued Friday by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami days after roads and over 560 houses in Joshimath, a key transit point for tourists travelling to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, developed cracks due to land subsidence, triggering panic and protests among the local population.
A building tilts following landslides in the Joshimath of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Cracks have started appearing in the houses causing panic in the whole city. Administration is shifting residents. (PTI Photo)
The orders were issued after Dhami attended a high-level meeting with senior officials through video conference from the state secretariat. The Chief Minister is set to visit Joshimath Saturday.
Located at a height of 6,000 feet in Chamoli district, Joshimath falls in high-risk seismic Zone-V.
According to officials, about 50 families staying in houses at risk have been rehabilitated. The Chamoli administration has made arrangements for temporary shelters by earmarking over 70 rooms, seven halls and an auditorium with a capacity of 385 people as temporary shelters. Safe locations are being identified in the Pipalkoti and Gauchar areas, near Joshimath, they said.
Water oozes out after cracks appeared in the houses due to landslides at Vishnupuram Marwari Colony, in the Joshimath of Uttarakhand, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (PTI Photo)
According to data provided by the Chamoli administration, 561 houses in different areas of the town have developed cracks, including 153 in Ravigram, 127 in Gandhinagar, 71 in Manohar Bagh, 52 in Singhdhar, 50 in Parsari, 29 in Upper Bazar, 27 in Suneel, 28 in Marwadi and 24 in Lower Bazar. Joshimath also has a number of homestays and hotels, many of which have been hit by the subsidence.
Officials said the disaster management department is conducting surveys at locations where new cracks have developed. Some hotels in the area have tilted onto other buildings and new water sources have emerged in places, they said, adding that those affected are being shifted to night shelters while tourists have been banned from staying in hotels damaged by landslides.
“Helping these people in need is our duty and responsibility… We need to focus on how we can help these people in the best possible way. At this time, the most important thing is to maintain the faith of people in the government and the administration. The machinery on the ground needs to work with sensitivity and keep a watch on the situation. We need to work seriously on the immediate and long-term plans,” said Dhami.
“Along with the immediate action plan, the process of long-term plans should be shortened and the work on the treatment of danger zones, sewers and drainage should be completed at the earliest,” he said.
Dhami said that Joshimath has spiritual and cultural importance, and it is also to be kept in mind that the livelihood of people is not affected. A sufficient number of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State DRF teams should be deployed, and helicopter facilities will be provided, if required, he said.
Meanwhile, a day after protests were held against the “idle administration”, a 14-member team of the ruling BJP visited Joshimath and submitted feedback to the party’s state president Mahendra Bhatt. In a statement, Bhatt said the state government is taking all steps to help those affected, and that NTPC and HCC are providing 2,000 prefabricated houses to affected families.
The Opposition Congress hit out at the state government, saying it had turned a blind eye towards the plight of people. “Landslides are happening continuously in Joshimath… Due to cracks in many houses in Joshimath, people are forced to spend the night on the streets in the bitter cold. The state government should take appropriate steps to save Joshimath from landslides,” the party tweeted.
