PMO reviews Joshimath subsidence issue, loops in central agencies and experts

A team of experts from 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 situation and give recommendations, the officials said after the meeting.

Joshimath: ThePrime Minister's Office held a high-level review meeting on Sunday, wherein the central government agencies and experts were asked to assist the Uttarakhand government to prepare short, medium and long-term plans to deal with the Joshimath situation, officials said. One team of the National Disaster Response Force and four teams of the State Disaster Response Force have already reached Joshimath, where people are in alarm due to land subsidence and cracks have developed in hundreds of houses.

Affected families are being shifted to safe locations, officials said. The Border Management secretary and members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will visit Uttarakhand on Monday and assess the situation

A team of experts from 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, they said.

During the meeting held by P K Mishra, the principal secretary to the prime minister, the Uttarakhand chief secretary briefed the PMO, they added. The review meeting was attended by the cabinet secretary, other senior officials of the central government and members of the National Disaster Management Authority. District officials of Joshimath besides senior officials of Uttarakhand attended the review meeting through video-conferencing.

Uttrakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited Joshimath on Saturday to assess the situation on the ground, a day after he directed the immediate evacuation of around 600 affected families.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami of all possible help to the state in the wake of land subsidence in Joshimath. "PM Modi had a telephone conversation with me asking about the situation in Joshimath and the steps taken for the rehabilitation and safety of people," said Uttarakhand CM Dhami. "The situation in Joshimath is being analyzed. We'll also see if other mountainous towns have achieved their toleration limit," added Dhami. "PM Modi assured all possible help to save Joshimath," said the Uttarakhand CM.

Uttrakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had visited Joshimath on Saturday to assess the situation on the ground, a day after he directed the immediate evacuation of around 600 affected families. Dhami said Joshimath is an important place from the cultural, religious and tourism points of view and all efforts will be made to save it.

The district administration meanwhile made arrangements for the affected families. A total of 66 families are reported to have migrated from town since these cracks started appearing.

Joshimath, considered a sacred town, was alarmed after the sudden appearance of fissures in the houses and roadways. The authorities had immediately evacuated the town and shifted people to night shelters of the municipality.

As informed by the District Disaster Management Department, cracks developed in as many as 561 houses in Joshimath, likely because of the continued land subsidence in the town. The affected people, their families, and children are currently living in night shelters, officials said.

The locals said that the people affected by the landslide, have been assured by the government that they will get pre-fabricated houses. However, they are worried about when the houses will be allotted to them. Meanwhile, the state government has dispatched a team of experts to the area to assess the situation. The teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have also been deployed in the area as a precautionary measure, Chamoli Chief Development Officer (CDO) Lalit Narayan Mishra said on Friday.