Disaster Management Secy inspects Joshimath, says 'cracks increased, but monitoring underway'

Joshimath (Uttarakhand) [India], January 15 : Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha on Sunday inspected the landslide-affected areas in Uttarakhand's Joshimath and said that there has been an uptick in the number of cracks, but no new areas have faced damages.
The Secretary inspected areas including Auli Ropeway, Manohar Bagh, Shankaracharya Math, JP Colony along with geologists and senior officials.

Speaking to ANI, Sinha said that the teams are conducting tests to ascertain if there is any particular pattern of developing cracks.
"Relief and rescue operations are being conducted. There has been an uptick in the number of cracks in some places. Cracks haven't developed in new areas. There is a minor increase in the cracks of approx 1mm but we are monitoring them. We are also finding a pattern so that in the future there is no damage. All teams are conducting tests whether there is any pattern developing of the cracks. After the tests, we will take action based on it. The cracks have increased, but there is nothing to worry about," he said.
"The Central and state governments are making combined efforts during this period. Our all teams have reached here for investigation & now their research will tell what is the reason behind it. After that action will be taken on the same accordingly," Sinha added.
He informed that the geophysical study of the affected area is being done by the NGRI Hyderabad. NGRI is studying the underground water channel. After the study, the geophysical and hydrological map will also be made available by NGRI. These maps will be useful for Joshimath's drainage plan and stabilization plan.
"The affected families are being shifted to safer places with urgency. The work of marking the affected buildings is going on continuously. Teams of geologists and experts are engaged in the work of investigating the causes of the landslide," he said.
"CBRI, IIT Roorkee, Wadia Institute, GSI, IIRS and NGRI are working in Joshimath," Sinha added.
Earlier today, PMO Deputy Secretary Mangesh Ghildiyal visited Joshimath to inspect the land subsidence situation.
"A team from PMO came today to inspect the situation of land here. Houses where cracks have appeared & water quality was inspected," Himanshu Khurana, DM, Chamoli said.
Uttarakhand Health Secretary Dr R Rajesh Kumar said that the health department of the government is on alert mode to provide relief to the affected people.
"Govt is helping all affected people regarding the Joshimath disaster, while the health department is also on alert mode. 26 doctors have been deployed on a rotation basis. Along with this, two psychologists have also been posted," he said.
"All types of medicines are available in Joshimath and I am in touch with the district administration and if there is any problem in health facilities, the problems will be resolved immediately," Kumar added.