Border Management Secretary and members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) are visiting Uttarakhand on Monday to assess the situation in the sinking town of Joshimath.
This was decided after a high-level review meeting on Sunday by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on the Joshimath situation.
P K Mishra, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, held the high-level review of building damage and land subsidence in Joshimath.
Cabinet Secretary; Home Secretary; senior officials of Government of India; and members of National Disaster Management Authority, Chief Secretary and DGP of Uttarakhand, DM and Officials of Joshimath; Senior officers of Uttarakhand; and experts from IIT Roorkee, National Institute of Disaster Management, Geological Survey of India, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology also attended the high-level review through Video Conference (VC).
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is concerned and has reviewed the situation with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
During the meeting on Joshimath, Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Sukhbir Singh Sandhu informed that state and district officials with the support of central experts have assessed the situation on ground.
He informed that a strip of land with a width of around 350 meters is affected. One team of NDRF and four teams of SDRF have reached Joshimath.
The district administration is working with the affected families to evacuate and relocate them to safer places with adequate arrangements for food, shelter and security. SP and Commandment of SDRF are stationed at the site. Residents of Joshimath are being informed of the developments and their cooperation is being sought. Advice of experts is being sought to formulate the short-medium-long term plans.
Further, Secretary, Border Management and all four members of NDMA are visiting Uttarakhand on Monday. They will undertake a detailed assessment on the findings of the technical teams (NDMA, NIDM, NDRF, GSI, NIH, Wadia Institute, IIT Roorkee) that have just returned from Joshimath and advice the state government on immediate, short-medium-long-term actions to address the situation.
The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister stressed that the immediate priorities for the state should be the safety of the people living in the affected area. The state Government should establish a clear and continuous communication channel with the affected people. Immediate efforts should be to arrest the deterioration in the situation through practical measures that may be feasible.
An inter-disciplinary investigation of the affected area should be undertaken.
Experts from a range of central institutions— National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), Geological Survey of India (GSI), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) and Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) should work closely with the state of Uttarakhand in the spirit of “Whole of Government” approach.
A clear time-bound reconstruction plan must be prepared. Continuous seismic monitoring must be done. Using this opportunity, a risk sensitive urban development plan for Joshimath should also be developed.
The Prime Minister also held a telephonic conversation with the Uttarakhand Chief Minister and inquired about the steps taken for the safety and rehabilitation of the affected residents of Joshimath in the wake of the land subsidence incident.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), PM Modi inquired about the progress of immediate and long-term action plans to mitigate and resolve the concerns of residents.
“PM Modi spoke to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami over the telephone and inquired about the steps taken for the safety and rehabilitation of the affected residents and the progress of the immediate and long-term action plan to solve the problem,” the Uttarakhand CMO said in a statement.
The CMO added that the Prime Minister was personally monitoring the situation in Joshimath and the ongoing work to ensure the safety of civilians in the area.
PM Modi also assured all possible assistance to save Joshimath in his telephonic conversation with CM Dhami.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand CM directed the formation of a coordination committee at the government level, led by the Additional Chief Secretary, and at the local level under the chairmanship of the commissioner of Garhwal, to mobilise urgent relief and rescue of the civilians affected by the Joshimath landslide and subsidence.
Following the appearance of cracks in houses, a total of 66 families, so far, are reported to have migrated from Joshimath.
The affected people, their families, and children are currently living in night shelters, officials said.
Locals said the people affected by the landslide have been assured by the government that they will get pre-fabricated houses. However, they said they are clueless how soon the houses will be allotted to them.