Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 10: Even as the authorities are grappling with evacuating people from the “sinking” Joshimath, cracks have appeared in around 50 houses in Karnprayag, also in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand.
Official sources said Bahuguna Nagar in Karnprayag has also experienced several landslides, though so far of minor nature. The Karnprayag municipality has requested Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s government for help.
Many families of Bahuguna Nagar have left their homes and taken shelter with their relatives staying in other areas. Thirty families of Karnprayag Upper Bazar Ward are also in danger of disaster. The victims are apparently requesting the State Government for help.
Earlier Sitarganj MLA Saurabh Bahuguna had informed that other villages near Joshimath are facing a similar situation of subsidence. “Efforts are underway for rehabilitation of affected people in Joshimath. We assure the safety of the people of Joshimath. I have received calls about villages near Joshimath grappling with a similar situation. The chief minister will be briefed on the same,” the Sitarganj MLA said,
Meanwhile, the District Disaster Management Authority, Chamoli has issued a bulletin related to disaster management in view of landslides happening in the Joshimath area. According to the bulletin, cracks have been noticed in a total of 678 buildings in the Joshimath town area. In view of security, a total of 81 families have been temporarily displaced.”
Under Joshimath city area, 213 rooms have been temporarily identified as habitable, whose capacity has been estimated at 1191, along with this, 491 rooms/halls have been identified in Pipalkoti outside Joshimath area, whose capacity is 2,205,” the bulletin said.
The administration has also distributed food kits and blankets to the affected families as per their requirements along with the distribution of funds for essential household items at the rate of ₹5,000 per family. A total of 63 food kits and 53 blankets have been made available.
The authorities have planned demolition of dangerous buildings including houses and hotels under the supervision of the experts from the Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) ready to assist if needed. Hotel Malari In and Hotel Mount View in Joshimath have been identified as amongst the first to be demolished. According to officials, all residents have been safely evacuated from the ‘unsafe zones.”
On Monday, a team from the Ministry of Jal Shakti arrived in Joshimath to take stock of the situation. District magistrate Himanshu Khurana informed that a central team will also arriving soon to survey the damage to properties and suggest a way forward while coordinating with the local administration in relief and rescue efforts.
On Sunday, the Uttarakhand government declared all nine municipal wards in Joshimath as “landslide-subsidence zone” under the disaster management act and began the evacuation of residents from these areas.
Apart from evacuations, the Uttarakhand government is also working on the relocation and rehabilitation of people. According to Uttarakhand chief minister, the possible relocation sites include Gauchar and Pipalkoti.
Joshimath, which is witnessing land subsidence forcing the Uttarakhand Government to shift the locals to safer places, has been divided into three zones based on the magnitude of possible danger, an official said on Monday.
