Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the sinking Joshimath on Saturday to assess the situation on the ground. He met the affected people and assured them of all help, officials said.
On Thursday, residents protested against the town’s ongoing land subsidence in several wards. This follows concerns that the town was gradually sinking as cracks continued to appear in houses.
Joshimath, located at 6,000 feet in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, is in high-risk seismic ‘Zone-V’.
The CM met the team of officials and experts who have been camping in the town since Thursday and took their feedback on the evacuation exercise, they said.
He walked through the narrow streets in the affected areas and also went inside houses in which huge cracks have appeared on the walls and ceilings.
“Evacuating affected families in the danger zone to safe locations is the government’s priority for now. We are also working on a long-term rehabilitation strategy,” he said.
After visiting the affected areas in the Himalayan town, Dhami said that suitable places for relocation of residents near Pipalkoti and Gauchar are also being identified.
Officials have been asked not to get entangled in long procedural complexities and take direct clearance from him for projects related to the treatment of drainage and sewage systems in Joshimath, he said.
Dhami stated that Joshimath is an important cultural, religious, and tourist destination, and that all efforts will be made to preserve it. The CM also prayed at the famous Narsingh temple in town for keeping its residents out of harm’s way.
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