More families flee sinking Joshimath as panic grips the area
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Joshimath: More horrifying cracks appear in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath with some of them looking like those develop in the aftermath of an earthquake.
Eleven more families were moved to safe locations after developing cracks cut across their houses, according to reports.
Since the land sinking started, 603 buildings in 9 wards have developed cracks and 65 families have been rescued so far, according to Chamoli district administration.
The Uttarakhand government has released Rs 11 crore more for safety and rescue operations in the area, according to India Today.
Sitting at an altitude of 6,000 feet in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, Joshimath is in the high-risk seismic ‘Zone-V’ on the route to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib Falls.
Of the houses that developed cracks, 153 are in Ravigram, 127 in Gandhinagar, 71 in Manoharbagh, 52 in Singhdhar, 50 in Parsari, 29 in Upper Bazar, 27 in Suneel, 28 in Marwadi and 24 in Lower Bazar, District Disaster Management Officer NK Joshi reportedly previously said.
An expert team reporting to the Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami earlier linked phenomenon to the land subsidence in the Himalayan town.
Joshimath, the well-known gateway to famous pilgrimage sites like Badrinath, Hemkund Sahib, is in the grip of rising panic.
In the face of the clueless development, the central government asked a panel to make a "rapid study" of the land subsidence.
The chief minister Pushkar Dhami visited the area on Saturday to personally assess the situation and also directed officials for the survey of Joshimath area.
The chief minister visited houses lined with cracks running across the floors, walls and ceilings.
"Joshimath is an important and cultural place for us. Our priority is to keep affected people safe. Experts are trying to get the reasons behind it. We are trying to keep people at safe locations," CM Pushkar Singh Dhami reportedly said.
Around 47 families have been shifted on Thursday to safer shelters in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath area after hundreds of houses appeared at risk of collapsing.