Joshimath land subsidence: Administration instructs immediate deployment of NDRF

New Delhi: After land subsidence was reported in Joshimath, the Chamoli district administration on Friday instructed to immediately deploy a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in the town.

A team of experts, including officials from the administration and State Disaster Management, conducted a door-to-door survey in the areas which were affected by the land subsidence in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath. Garhwal Commissioner Sushil Kumar and Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha started the door-to-door survey in Joshimath.

Out of 561 establishments, 153 in Ravigram ward, 127 in the Gandhinagar ward, 28 in the Marwadi ward, 24 in the Lower Bazaar ward, 52 in the Singhdhar ward, 71 in the Manohar Bagh ward, 29 in the Upper Bazaar ward 27 in the Sunil ward and 50 in Parsari reported cracks, according to Chamoli district administration statement.

The operations of Hotel View and Malari Inn were restricted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, till further orders, the statement added.

On Thursday, a total of nine families were displaced, which includes four families in Joshimath Municipal Corporation, one from Gurudwara Joshimath, one from Tourist Hostel, Manohar Bagh and others.

A total of 38 families have been displaced so far.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday said that he would hold a high-level meeting in Dehradun this evening.

“I will hold a high-level meeting with top officials in Dehradun this evening regarding landslides in Joshimath and cracks in houses,” Uttarakhand CM told ANI today.

Apart from the Disaster Management, Irrigation, Home Department officials, Commissioner Garhwal Mandal and District Magistrate Chamoli will also participate in the meeting.

Dhami further said that he would visit Joshimath on Saturday and take stock of the situation.

“A team from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also been sent there,” he added.

Notably, Joshimath Municipal Chairman Shailendra Pawar said huge cracks appeared in the houses due to a leakage of water from inside the ground in the Marwadi ward.

The Chamoli district administration on Thursday asked Hindustan Construction Company Ltd (HCC) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to be prepared to shelter the affected families migrating from Uttarakhand’s Joshimath due to land subsidence.