By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 19 Jan: Secretary, Disaster Management, Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha informed media, today, that the cracks in the buildings in Joshimath had not widened over the past three days.
Sinha briefed the media at the Secretariat Media Centre in the Secretariat here, today, on the rehabilitation and relief work being carried out post the land subsidence in Joshimath.
Sinha said that the meters installed by CBRI to measure the cracks in the buildings had indicated no increase in their width during past three days, which he said is a very positive sign.
He added that, today, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a meeting with the Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, Secretary, Urban Development, Secretary, Disaster Management, regarding ongoing relief works in Joshimath. The Chief Minister was updated by the officials on the work done by various central and state government technical institutions.
The Chief Minister issued instructions that the disaster management work be done with full promptness. He assured that there would be no shortage of funds for disaster management in Joshimath.
In the meeting, the Urban Development Department was instructed to ensure effective urban town planning in each district. Instructions had also been given for effective arrangement of drainage and sewer systems in hill towns.
Sinha added that the Chamoli district administration is carrying out survey work with necessary speed in Joshimath. The district administration is also holding continuous consultations with the displaced families. The current discharge of water in Joshimath is 150 LPM. The capacity to host affected persons in the sites identified for the purpose had been increased to more than 4,000 persons. No cracks had been seen in any more buildings. Till now, cracks have been noticed in 849 buildings. The survey work, however, is still in progress. A total of 181 buildings have been declared as unsafe, so far, while 259 families have been temporarily shifted for their safety. The number of displaced persons so far is 867.
The Additional Secretary, Disaster Management, Director, Uttarakhand Landslide Management and Mitigation Institute, Director, Wadia Institute, Director, IIRS Dehradun, Director, NIH, and Director, IITR, were among those present at the press conference.
