Uttarakhand: 600 residents will be evacuated from the “sinking” town of Joshimath
No one was inside the temple when the catastrophe took place, according to locals, as it had been abandoned over the previous 15 days after experiencing significant cracking.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered the evacuation of locals after a temple fell in the Singdhar ward in the Himalayan town of Joshimath on Friday evening, alarming people who live in constant fear of a catastrophic tragedy impending.
No one was inside the temple when the catastrophe took place, according to locals, as it had been abandoned over the previous 15 days after experiencing significant cracking.
According to disaster management experts, numerous houses have developed large fractures, and roughly 50 families have been relocated to safer areas.
In addition to them, 60 families who were residing in a community designed for Vishnu Prayag Jal Vidyut Pariyojana workers were relocated, according to the colony’s director Pankaj Chauhan.
The worst affected location is in Marwari, where an aquifer spilled three days ago. While water from the aquifer is continuously rushing down there with enormous velocity, several residences there were destroyed to varied degrees.
On the request of the locals, all construction works for major projects like the NTPC’s hydroelectric plant and the Chardham all-weather road (Helang-Marwari bypass) have been halted till further notice.
According to previous local municipality president Rishi Prasad Sati, the Auli ropeway service was also suspended after a significant crack appeared beneath it.
Land subsidence has been a concern for more than a year, but it has gotten worse recently, according to him.
People staged a dharna at the Joshimath tehsil office on Friday as part of ongoing protests calling for rehabilitation.
Dhami ordered the immediate evacuation of about 600 residents who were residing in homes with significant cracks and were in danger in the sinking town of Joshimath.
“Preserving lives is our top concern. After monitoring the situation in the sinking town with officials via video conference on Friday, Dhami informed reporters that officials have been requested to relocate about 600 residents residing in endangered dwellings in Joshimath to safe locations.
We are developing both short-term and long-term strategies to deal with the Joshimath predicament.
On Saturday, the chief minister will travel to Joshimath, where he will meet with those who have been impacted and officials.
Sushil Kumar, the commissioner for Garhwal, and Ranjit Kumar Sinha, the secretary for disaster management, together with a team of specialists, are camped out on the ground to keep an eye on the situation, according to Dhami.
He instructed the administration to move swiftly to relocate residents from the impacted areas.
According to him, there should be medical treatment facilities on the ground as well as plans for airlifting individuals.
Both a short-term and long-term action plan should be created, and work on both should begin immediately, according to Dhami.
In order to complete the remediation of danger zones, sewers, and drainage more quickly, procedures need to be made simpler.
He declared, “Lives of our countrymen are most important to us.”
“Joshimath needs to be separated into sectors and zones, and appropriate action needs to be performed. The town should also have a disaster control centre, according to the chief minister.
Alternative locations in Pipalkoti, Gauchar, and other places should be found, he urged, for the afflicted people’s long-term rehabilitation.
The district magistrate should keep in touch with citizens and should also identify any potential danger areas.
“Transporting people to secure areas is essential. Additionally, satellite pictures may be helpful in this. To succeed in the exercise, all departments should engage in a collaborative manner, according to Dhami.
He added that there should be an adequate deployment of State Disaster Response Force and National Disaster Response Force personnel to assist the impacted population. He also suggested making helicopter services accessible as needed.
“The town of Joshimath is significant in both religion and culture. The livelihoods of individuals shouldn’t be impacted, he said, so care should be exercised.