Joshimath: Uttarakhand govt to form assessment committee with locals as members
The chief secretary said that in order to prevent any loss of life and property due to land subsidence, families should be shifted and then buildings should be demolished on a priority basis
Chief secretary SS Sandhu on Tuesday directed officials concerned to form an assessment committee which should also have local residents as its members in Joshimath town of Uttarakhand.
He directed officials that a team should be sent to the entire area of Joshimath daily to gauge real time damage in the area.
He added that the buildings that are more affected should be demolished on priority.
The chief secretary gave these instructions while chairing a high-level meeting on Joshimath crisis at the secretariat on Tuesday.
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The chief secretary sought information of the status of the area from the district magistrate (DM) Chamoli.
The chief secretary said that in order to prevent any loss of life and property due to land subsidence, families should be shifted and then buildings should be demolished on a priority basis.
“There should be proper arrangements for the affected families who have been shifted to safer locations”, he said.
The chief secretary instructed the officials that the mobile network in Joshimath may also be affected due to land subsidence.
“The communication system should be strengthened by shifting mobile towers to a safer place or installing new towers”, he said.
He added that work should also be started on the drainage and sewage plan in 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
According to the bulletin issued by the state government on Tuesday evening, the number of houses which have developed cracks has increased to 723, which includes 86 houses which have been declared unsafe for living. So far 131 families have been shifted to safer locations, including 37 families on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Joshimath Kumkum Joshi said the owner of unsafe buildings to be razed down will get compensation on the basis of valuation (calculation of cost on the basis of measurement).