Joshimath land subsidence: Uttarakhand govt directs building of prefab houses to provide shelter

Joshimath (Uttarakhand) [India], January 5 : The Chamoli district administration on Thursday asked Hindustan Construction Company Ltd (HCC) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to be prepared to shelter the affected families migrating from Uttarakhand's Joshimath due to land subsidence.
HCC and NTPC have been directed to build 2,000 prefabricated houses - a shelter for each family migrating from Joshimath.
As reported earlier, the Uttarakhand government has formed a team of scientists to find out the reason behind the occurrence of land subsidence in Joshimath and the resultant damage to the houses.
This team will go to the spot and investigate the reason, said an official statement.
According to an official statement, engineers from the Geological Survey of India, Wadia Institute and IIT Roorkee have been included in the team formed on the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Secretary Disaster Management Ranjit Sinha said, "This team of experts will assess the occurrence of landslides and cracks in houses in Joshimath."
The state BJP has also formed a 14-member committee under the coordination of State General Secretary Aditya Kothari to assess the land subsidence and damage being reported from Joshimath.
BJP state media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said that the committee constituted on the instructions of state president Mahendra Prasad Bhatt will visit the site on January 6 and hold talks with local residents, businessmen and public representatives and submit its report to the state leadership.
Cracks have reportedly developed in as many as 561 houses in Joshimath as a result of continued land subsidence in the town, stated the District Disaster Management Department.
Following the appearance of cracks in the houses, a total of 66 families are reported to have migrated from Joshimath as of now.
"Now the process of increasing cracks in Singhdhar and Marwadi has started. Badrinath NH near Singhdhar Jain locality and JP Company Gate in Marwadi, near the forest department check post, is continuously cracking. These cracks are increasing every hour which is worrying," said Joshimath Municipal Chairman Shailendra Pawar.
As many as nine houses in Marwadi have reported cracks and at the same time cracks have started appearing in most public roads of the ward, stated the City Board Chairman, Joshimath. District Disaster Management Department has also reported cases of water seepage from underground in JP Colony, Marwadi ward of Joshimath.
"Cracks are also increasing on all the main roads of Sunil Ward due to which people are facing a lot of difficulty in walking," said Shailendra Panwar.
After continued land sinking in Joshimath, District Magistrate Chamoli has posted Joint Magistrate Deepak Saini in Joshimath.
Earlier in the day, in the wake of the news of land subsidence in Joshimath and cracks developing in many houses in the town, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that necessary actions would be taken to save the people of the district.
CM Dhami would be visiting Joshimath soon to take stock of the situation and initiate necessary actions. The statement comes in the backdrop of reports of huge cracks that have appeared in the houses of the area due to land subsidence which is known as the vertical sinking of land in an area.
"I will be visiting Joshimath in the coming days and initiate steps to handle the situation. All the reports will be monitored and all the required steps will be taken. I have had a word with the Municipal Corporation chairman Shailendra Panwar to monitor the condition in the district," said CM Pushkar Singh Dhami while talking to ANI.