Panic Over 'Sinking' Joshimath Halts Char Dham Road, Other Key Projects, CM Dhami Calls High-level Meeting

The Chamoli district administration on Thursday imposed a ban on all construction activities around Joshimath town after thousands of residents blocked the Badrinath national highway-58 for hours amid protests.

In wake of the sinking areas in Joshimath, the Helang bypass works under BRO (Border Roads Organisation) has been stopped immediately. Under sections 33 and 34 of the Disaster Management Act, the directions are given until fresh orders,” a report by Times of India quoted an order signed by Joshimath ADM. Other construction works have been halted around the municipal area of the town.

This comes amid a bandh observed by the town which is at present protesting against administrative indifference to the plight of residents and the “NTPC projects which have led to its gradual sinking”.

Also Read: Did You Know ‘Sinking’ Joshimath is Built on Old Landslide? Shocking Facts, 50-yr-old Alert Explained

Located at a height of 6,000 feet in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, the town, on the route to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, falls in high-risk seismic ‘Zone-V’. 561 houses in different areas of the town have developed cracks, District Disaster Management Officer NK Joshi said.

The degree of damage to the houses differs and till now, 29 families from the most affected houses have been shifted temporarily to safer places from the town, he said, adding that more families could be evacuated if required. The locations where they have been shifted to include the Nagar Palika Bhawan, a primary school building, the Milan Kendra, and the Joshimath Gurudwara, the official said. Some of the families have also been shifted for the time being to the places of their relatives, Joshi said.  In total 70 rooms, 7 halls, and 1 auditorium has been identified to accommodate the relocated people.

A detailed survey of the situation is being done and houses, particularly at risk, are being identified, the official said. District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana is constantly monitoring the situation and the SDRF, NDRF and police have been asked to be on the alert, a report by PTI claimed.

Residents Raise Slogans Against ‘Idle Administration’

Earlier, residents of the distressed town were seen descending onto the streets shouting slogans and staging a chakka jam while pushing the administration to meet their demands which included immediate rehabilitation of residents, stopping construction of an NTPC tunnel and a bypass road between Helang and Marwadi for Badrinath and fixing responsibility of this disaster on the NTPC’s Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the situation in Joshimath is being closely monitored and he will visit the place on Saturday to assess the situation. A high-level meeting will also be held today evening by the CM to discuss the issue.

The officials said a team of experts has also been set up to conduct a survey of the place that falls in the high-risk seismic ‘Zone-V’.

(With inputs from PTI)

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