Joshimath declared subsidence zone

New Delhi, January 8

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reviewed the unfolding crisis in Joshimath with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and directed that shifting affected people to safety should be the top priority.

• Editorial: Saving Joshimath

PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to the PM, held a detailed meeting to assess the situation even as Joshimath was declared a landslide-subsidence zone and 60 families living in damaged houses were moved to temporary relief centres. Another 90 families would be shifted soon.

The high-level PMO meeting was briefed by Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Sukhbir Singh Sandhu from Joshimath. He said a strip of land with 350 m width was affected. The PMO directed the Secretary, Border Management, and all four members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to visit Uttarakhand on Monday and assess the ground situation. “They will undertake a detailed assessment on the findings of the technical teams that have just returned from Joshimath and advise the state government on immediate, short, medium and long-term steps to address the situation,” the PMO said in a statement.

It also ordered continuous seismic monitoring of the area and preparation of a risk sensitive urban development plan for Joshimath. “A team of the NDRF and four of the SDRF have reached Joshimath. The district administration is working with the affected families to evacuate and relocate them with food, shelter and security arrangements,” Sandhu said.

Earlier, Garhwal Commissioner Sushil Kumar said 60 families had been moved to safety and 90 more had to be evacuated. Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana on Sunday went door to door to assess damages and urged people to vacate houses.

Scale of damage

• 60 families moved to shelters
• 90 more to be evacuated
• 5 sites for relief centres
• 610 buildings ‘unfit for living’

PIL blames infra projects

• A PIL filed in Delhi HC has sought direction to Centre to set up a panel headed by a retired judge to look into Joshimath issue
• Petitioner advocate Rohit Dandriyal claims infrastructure projects worked as catalyst in present scenario