By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 17 Jan: Secretary, Disaster Management, Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha informed the media here today about the rehabilitation and relief measures works being undertaken in Joshimath. He said that an amount of Rs 3.10 crores had been distributed to 207 affected families as advance for rehabilitation by the state government, so far. Sinha also stated that the initial discharge of water in Joshimath town had now reduced to 123 litres per minute from a peak level of discharge at 540 litres per minute that had been measured on 6 January.
Sinha added that, at the Government of India’s level, various Central Government institutions had been given a timeline to make available their reports on the disaster affected area in Joshimath. He added that the team of 10 scientists of Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) had been given 3 weeks, while a team of 10 scientists of National Geophysical Research Institute Hyderabad (NGRI) had been given 2 weeks to submit a preliminary report and 2 months to submit the final report. The team of 7 scientists from Geological Survey of India (GSI) has been given 2 weeks to submit the preliminary report and 2 months time to submit the final report.
Sinha added that a team of 4 scientists of Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Dehradun, has been given time of 1 week to submit a preliminary report and 3 weeks to submit the final report. At the same time, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) has been given a week’s time to submit a preliminary report and 3 months time to submit the final report.
The Secretary, Disaster Management, also disclosed that a piece of land belonging to the State Horticulture Department located near TCP Chowk in Joshimath had been identified for setting up of pre-fabricated huts. Also, 15 buildings in JP Colony in Joshimath had been identified as dangerous and would be demolished. The demolition work has already started, he added.
Sinha added that cracks had been noticed in 849 buildings, so far, during the survey being conducted in Joshimath by the teams of experts. The Additional Secretary, Disaster Management, Director, Uttarakhand Landslide Management and Mitigation Institute, Director, Wadia Institute, Director, IIRS Dehradun, Director, NIH, and Director, IITR, were present at the press conference.
