To assess the situation, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami will convene a high-level conference in Dehradun on January 6 with senior representatives from the government's disaster, irrigation, and home departments, as well as the Garhwal Mandal commissioner and the Chamoli district magistrate.
Joshimath, situated at 6,000 feet in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand between Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, is in seismically active Zone V - a region with a high risk of earthquakes. In anticipation of a sinkage, many individuals have already evacuated the town.
The Chamoli administration stated in a bulletin on January 5 that a total of 561 establishments in Joshimath reported fractures that appeared after soil subsidence, with the greatest —153 establishments — reporting cracks in the Ravigram ward in Uttarakhand.
Nine families in total have been forced to leave their homes in the past 24 hours, including four from the Joshimath Municipal Corporation, one from the Gurudwara Joshimath, one from the Tourist Hostel, one from Manohar Bagh and others. Up until now, 38 families in total have been uprooted, according to the statement.
Under the Disaster Management Act of 2005, Hotel View and Malari Inn's operations are banned until further orders.
Out of 561 establishments, as per the statement, 127 in the Gandhinagar ward, 28 in the Marwadi ward, 24 in the Lower Bazaar ward, 52 in the Singhdhar ward, 71 in the Manohar Bagh ward, 29 in the Upper Bazaar ward 27 in the Sunil ward, 50 in Parsari, and 153 in Ravigram reported cracks.
CM Dhami promised to take the required steps to protect the safety of the populace in response to reports of land sinking in Joshimath and cracks appearing in many of the town's homes. To assess the situation and take the appropriate steps, Dhami said he would shortly be travelling to Joshimath.
On January 4 night, a large number of people in Joshimath came to the streets with torches to draw attention to cracks appearing in buildings. Others barricaded the Badrinath roadway the following day, warning of a "chakka jam" due to the local land's vertical sinking.
(With ANI inputs)
