DEHRADUN: In an urgent and high-powered meeting called by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday, the Uttarakhand government — shaken by reports of a “sinking” Joshimath and images of huge cracks on the town’s buildings, roads and fields — has signalled “maximum alert” and put a slew of emergency measures in place, most of them to be implemented immediately.
State authorities and top police officials have been directed to ensure the availability of helicopters for airlifting of affected people who have been protesting day and night for temporary rehabilitation and long-term solutions.
Residents, who were spooked two days ago by sounds emanating from beneath the ground after an aquifer breached, have been staying out of their houses in the biting winter cold.
The CM told TOI: “Joshimath is a place of religious and cultural importance. It is a very sensitive issue and under such a scenario we have to ensure that the situation is handled in a manner that the livelihood of the people is not affected. Our top priority is to shift the people living in the danger zones to a safe place. The work will be carried out in the presence of experts and the SDRF (state disaster response force) team.”
With over 600 houses, several pathways and structures developing cracks — and counting each passing day — Dhami called for the immediate shifting of people living in the danger zones of Joshimath. For those who have already come to temporary camps, the government announced a relief of Rs 4,000 to each family — close to 100 families have moved and more are in queue — for a period of six months.
The meeting, attended among others by additional chief secretary Radha Raturi, DGP Ashok Kumar, secretary Shailesh Bagauli, secretary Sachin Kurve and DIG (SDRF) Ridhim Aggarwal along with the divisional commissioner (Garhwal) Sushil Kumar, DM (Chamoli) Himanshu Khurana and secretary (disaster management) Ranjit Kumar Sinha, also decided to look for land in “safe” locations for the permanent rehabilitation of Joshimath residents.
Authorities have been advised to see if areas in Pipalkothi (around 30 km from Joshimath), Gauchar (90 km away) are feasible. “Or for that matter, any other good place,” Dhami said.
The Chamoli district administration has set up relief camps and doctors, para medics would soon be deployed in “adequate numbers” to ensure “the best possible health facilities”. The commandant of 15th Battalion, NDRF, that is stationed at Gadarpur in Udham Singh Nagar district has been asked to head to Joshimath.
For the as yet unaffected areas of Joshimath, Dhami said that a drainage plan is being prepared by experts on priority and work will begin immediately. “Sewerage and drainage works should be completed in Joshimath before the monsoon,” the CM, who will be in Joshimath on Saturday, said.
Keeping in mind any such scenario in future, Dhami said that a team of experts will work to identify “the next and likely danger zone” and “put in place tools to deal with it”. He said, “Satellite images can be extremely useful in the entire process.”
The meeting also discussed setting up a “major” temporary rehabilitation centre close to Joshimath as early as possible. “For the whole of Joshimath, the planning will be done in detail and sector-wise or zone-wise. The disaster control room at Joshimath will be activated immediately and the CM’s office will be given regular updates,” a senior official who was in the meeting said.
Dhami added, “The government is working on a short-term as well as a long-term plan. At present, the priority is on shifting people to safe locations, looking for early solutions and coming up with a policy for the future…The situation is worrisome. The state government will leave no stone unturned to tackle the crisis.”
The commissioner of Garhwal and secretary of the disaster management department have camped at Joshimath and are updating Dhami on the unfolding situation regularly. Multiple technical teams are involved in “finding out the reasons (for the cracks and land slippage) and figuring out solutions, both for now and the near future,” an official said.
State authorities and top police officials have been directed to ensure the availability of helicopters for airlifting of affected people who have been protesting day and night for temporary rehabilitation and long-term solutions.
Residents, who were spooked two days ago by sounds emanating from beneath the ground after an aquifer breached, have been staying out of their houses in the biting winter cold.
The CM told TOI: “Joshimath is a place of religious and cultural importance. It is a very sensitive issue and under such a scenario we have to ensure that the situation is handled in a manner that the livelihood of the people is not affected. Our top priority is to shift the people living in the danger zones to a safe place. The work will be carried out in the presence of experts and the SDRF (state disaster response force) team.”
With over 600 houses, several pathways and structures developing cracks — and counting each passing day — Dhami called for the immediate shifting of people living in the danger zones of Joshimath. For those who have already come to temporary camps, the government announced a relief of Rs 4,000 to each family — close to 100 families have moved and more are in queue — for a period of six months.
The meeting, attended among others by additional chief secretary Radha Raturi, DGP Ashok Kumar, secretary Shailesh Bagauli, secretary Sachin Kurve and DIG (SDRF) Ridhim Aggarwal along with the divisional commissioner (Garhwal) Sushil Kumar, DM (Chamoli) Himanshu Khurana and secretary (disaster management) Ranjit Kumar Sinha, also decided to look for land in “safe” locations for the permanent rehabilitation of Joshimath residents.
Authorities have been advised to see if areas in Pipalkothi (around 30 km from Joshimath), Gauchar (90 km away) are feasible. “Or for that matter, any other good place,” Dhami said.
The Chamoli district administration has set up relief camps and doctors, para medics would soon be deployed in “adequate numbers” to ensure “the best possible health facilities”. The commandant of 15th Battalion, NDRF, that is stationed at Gadarpur in Udham Singh Nagar district has been asked to head to Joshimath.
For the as yet unaffected areas of Joshimath, Dhami said that a drainage plan is being prepared by experts on priority and work will begin immediately. “Sewerage and drainage works should be completed in Joshimath before the monsoon,” the CM, who will be in Joshimath on Saturday, said.
Keeping in mind any such scenario in future, Dhami said that a team of experts will work to identify “the next and likely danger zone” and “put in place tools to deal with it”. He said, “Satellite images can be extremely useful in the entire process.”
The meeting also discussed setting up a “major” temporary rehabilitation centre close to Joshimath as early as possible. “For the whole of Joshimath, the planning will be done in detail and sector-wise or zone-wise. The disaster control room at Joshimath will be activated immediately and the CM’s office will be given regular updates,” a senior official who was in the meeting said.
Dhami added, “The government is working on a short-term as well as a long-term plan. At present, the priority is on shifting people to safe locations, looking for early solutions and coming up with a policy for the future…The situation is worrisome. The state government will leave no stone unturned to tackle the crisis.”
The commissioner of Garhwal and secretary of the disaster management department have camped at Joshimath and are updating Dhami on the unfolding situation regularly. Multiple technical teams are involved in “finding out the reasons (for the cracks and land slippage) and figuring out solutions, both for now and the near future,” an official said.
