Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi’s office held a high-level meeting on the situation in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath. The crisis arose in the town of the hilly state following several big cracks that developed owing to sinking of land.
One team of the National Disaster Response Force and four teams of the State Disaster Response Force have already reached Joshimath, where people are in alarm due to land subsidence and cracks have developed in hundreds of houses.
In the high-level meet conducted by the PMO, central agencies and experts assisting the Uttarakhand government have been tasked to prepare short, medium and long term plans regarding the sinking Joshimath.
According to latest updates, Joshimath has been declared ‘unsafe for living’ and 60 families have already been evacuated. Further authorities have informed that 90 more families await their turn.
The Border Management secretary and members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will visit Uttarakhand on Monday and assess the situation
A team of experts from NDMA, National Institute of Disaster Management, Geological Survey of India, IIT Roorkee, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Institute of Hydrology and Central Building Research Institute will study the situations and give recommendations, they said.
During the meeting held by P K Mishra, the principal secretary to the prime minister, the Uttarakhand chief secretary briefed the PMO, they added.
The review meeting was attended by the cabinet secretary, other senior officials of the central government and members of the National Disaster Management Authority.
District officials of Joshimath besides senior officials of Uttarakhand attended the review meeting through video-conferencing.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who visited the affected areas in Joshimath on Saturday, held a meeting with officials after returning and asked them to relax norms to expedite relief operations.
He said they were asked not to get entangled in long procedural complexities and take direct clearance from him for work related to drainage treatment and sewage systems in Joshimath.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to CM Dhami over the phone to take stock of the situation in Joshimath, officials in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said. The PM sought updates on land subsidence in the town and the steps taken so far for the safety and rehabilitation of residents, they said.
(With agency inputs)
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More
Less
For all the latest world News Click Here
