Joshimath sinking: No widening of cracks in last 3 days, says top Uttarakhand govt official

Joshimath: Amid rescue and rehabilitation work in Joshimath, Secretary of Disaster Management Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha has said that the gauge meters installed by the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) to measure the cracks in the buildings in the holy town of Uttarakhand’s Chamoli have indicated no increase in the width of the cracks in the last three days.

"The crack meters installed by CBRI to measure the cracks in the buildings have indicated no increase in the width of the cracks in the last three days. This is a positive sign," said Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha while addressing the media on Thursday. He added that various kinds of work are being done in the disaster-affected Joshimath town.

Sinha further informed about the meeting held with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, along with Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary Finance, Urban Development, Secretary Disaster Management and said that the CM was updated about the work done by various central government and state government technical institutions.

"He (CM Dhami) instructed that the disaster management work should be done with full promptness. He said that there will be no shortage of funds in the works of disaster management in Joshimath. In the meeting, the Urban Development Department was instructed to prepare effective urban town planning in each district. Instructions have also been given for effective arrangement of drainage and sewer system in hill towns," Dr Sinha said.

Addressing further, he said that the Chamoli district administration is carrying out survey work in Joshimath promptly. The district administration is also holding consultations with the displaced, he added.

According to Sinha, the current discharge of water in Joshimath is 150 LPM. In the temporarily identified relief camps, Joshimath has a total of 615 rooms with a capacity of 2,190 people and Pipalkoti has 491 rooms with a capacity of 2,205 people and so far the cracks have been noticed in 849 buildings.

"The survey work is in progress. One area/ward has been declared unsafe in Gandhinagar, two in Singhdhar, five in Manoharbagh, and seven in Sunil. Building 181 is located in an unsafe area and 259 families have been temporarily displaced in view of security. The number of displaced family members is 867," he said in the address.

Additional Secretary Disaster Management, Director Uttarakhand Landslide Management and Mitigation Institute, Director Wadia Institute, Director IIRS Dehradun, Director NIH and Director IITR were also present in the press conference.