Uttarakhand govt to keep constant watch on Joshimath situation, shift families on priority

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], January 10 : Uttarakhand Chief Secretary SS Sandhu on Tuesday conducted a meeting regarding the Joshimath landslides at the secretariat and instructed the District Magistrate Chamoli to keep a constant watch on the situation.
The Chief Secretary said that in order to prevent any loss of life and property due to landslides, families should be shifted to safer places and buildings should be demolished on a priority basis.
"The places where the affected families have been kept, there should be proper arrangements for their living and food. Along with this, it should also be kept in mind that there should not be any kind of communication gap between the affected citizens and the administration. High officials should also be in constant contact with the affected families, and keep an eye on the situation," he said.
The Chief Secretary instructed the officials that the mobile network may also be affected due to landslides.
He said that the communication system should be strengthened by shifting mobile towers to a safer place or installing new towers.
"An assessment committee should be formed by taking the local people along. Every day a team should be sent to the entire area to inspect what kind and how much change has taken place in the area in the last 24 hours, the buildings which are more affected should be demolished on priority," he said.
Sandhu further said that work should also be started on the drainage and sewage plan for the static area of Joshimath.
"The help of experts should be taken in demolishing the buildings so that there is no other loss in the demolition. Along with this, the control room should be kept on active mode for 24 hours, and publicity should be given to the general public to contact them in case of any kind of emergency," he said.
Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Ajay Bhatt on Tuesday reached Uttarakhand's Joshimath town, where cracks have developed in buildings, roads among others in the wake of land subsidence and planned demolition is scheduled later in the day.
Bhatt held discussions with the administrative officials at the army base and took overview of the situation unfolding in the holy town that is seen as a gateway to Char Dham's Kedarnath and Badrinath.
Authorities were scheduled to demolish hotels and houses in Joshimath on Tuesday, which developed cracks.
Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said that the buildings marked under an unsafe zone in Joshimath town of Uttarakhand will be demolished from a scientific point of view under the supervision of the team of CBRI Roorkee.
Speaking to ANI, the Chamoli DM said that the district administration is making preparations to demolish the big hotels that have been hit by landslides.
"The hotels and houses which have come under the grip of the landslide have been identified. Buildings marked under unsafe zone have been vacated and the buffer zone in its vicinity is also being vacated. Scientists from CBRI Roorkee have been called to demolish these buildings. The team of CBRI will reach Joshimath today and they will identify the buildings which need to be demolished and under their guidance, further action will be taken. Keeping all the aspects in mind, these identified buildings will be demolished from a scientific point of view," said Khurana.