New Delhi: Following a satellite survey, 600 homes in Uttarakhand's "sinking" town of Joshimath have been evacuated. "As of now, we know that 600 houses have been evacuated. And about 4,000 people have been shifted to safer areas," a senior functionary of the Ministry of Home Affairs told NDTV.
The lowest levels of Army and ITBP facilities have also shown some cracks, but suitable safeguards are being implemented, the official said.
A high-level central team that was led by Dr Dharmendra Singh Gangwar, secretary for border management, arrived in Dehradun at the same time and met with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. "Surveys are being conducted by NDRF and local administration to get to exact numbers," a senior Home Ministry official explained, NDTV reported.
He added that it appears that 30% of Joshimath is affected. "A report is being compiled by an expert committee and it would be submitted to the Prime Minister's Office."
More than 200 homes in the sinking town have red cross marks on them because they are hazardous to live in, according to the district administration. It requested that their residents move to temporary relief centres or rented homes for which each family would receive support from the state government of 4,000 per month for the following six months.
For the relief and rescue operations in the town, members of the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been dispatched.
In Joshimath, the entrance to Badrinath and Hemkunt Sahib, more than 600 buildings have either developed cracks or been substantially damaged. Based on the potential level of risk, the holy town has been separated into three zones: "Danger," "Buffer," and "Completely safe."
The worrying situation has been attributed by experts to unplanned infrastructure development, including hydropower projects. Many people have mentioned the National Thermal Power Corporation's (NTPC) hydroelectricity project in this connection. This accusation has been rejected by NTPC. The NTPC tunnel does not pass through the town, according to an official statement, and no blasting operations are currently taking place there.