At a time when people of Uttarakhand’s ‘sinking’ town Joshimath are facing issues due to land subsidence, the region has received season’s first snowfall. The snowfall might also increase the rate of subsidence in the ‘sinking’ town.
Dehradun ,UPDATED: Jan 20, 2023 08:57 IST
Uttarakhand’s ‘sinking’ town Joshimath received season’s first snowfall on Friday (Photo: Screengrab)
By Ankit Sharma: Uttarakhand’s ‘sinking’ town Joshimath received the season’s first snowfall on Friday, raising concerns about land subsidence. The situation is now going to be very tough for the residents of Joshimath, which is already going through land subsidence, rendering people homeless.
The town was coated in a heavy layer of snow, adding to the woes of the residents of Joshimath who are already facing displacement. The incessant snowfall might also increase the rate of subsidence in the ‘sinking’ town.
The hotels, Malari Inn and Mount View, have been declared unsafe and are being dismantled. The meteorological department had predicted rain and snowfall in Joshimath, Chamoli and Pithoragarh on January 19, 20, 23 and 24.
Fresh snowfall was also seen in other districts of the state such as Dhanaulti, Gangotri, Yamnotri, Hemkund Sahib and Auli.
“There is a possibility of rain on January 19 and 20, while on January 23 and 24, there is a possibility of snowfall along with rain,” Bikram Singh, director of Meteorological Center Dehradun had earlier told ANI.
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In such a situation, the government, administration and district administration will have to be alert in the disaster-affected area of Joshimath, he added.
Joshimath is clearly headed for a disaster as several houses in the region have developed cracks over the past few days, prompting people to shift to shelter camps. Hundreds of residents have been shifted to relief centres in safe places after land subsidence began in Joshimath. The Uttarakhand government has already announced relief packages worth crores of rupees for the affected families of Joshimath.
Continuous snowfall in Uttarakhand has led to the closure of Gangotri National Highway.
ALSO READ | Joshimath ‘sinking’: Pets abandoned as families forced to leave unsafe homes in hill city
‘NO FURTHER WIDENING OF CRACKS’
The Uttarakhand government has said that crack meters installed in the damaged houses of Joshimath have registered no further widening of cracks in the last three days.
“Crack meters installed by CBRI to measure the cracks in the buildings have indicated no increase in the width of the cracks in the last three days. This is a positive sign,” Secretary of Disaster Management Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha said.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a meeting with the Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary Finance, Urban Development, Secretary Disaster Management regarding relief work in Joshimath. He instructed that the disaster management work should be done with full promptness and assured that there would be no shortage of funds for the relief work.
The displaced will be given better facilities by the state government, Dhami said and asked officials to prepare a rehabilitation plan in consultation with the affected residents.
The Chamoli district administration is promptly conducting survey work in Joshimath and holding consultations with the affected people. The number of houses to develop cracks in Joshimath stands at 849 while 259 affected families have been shifted to temporary relief centres, Sinha said.
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