Joshimath cracks: PM Modi concerned; PMO takes stock; NDRF teams on ground
Affected land is around 350 meters wide strip; centuries-old temples and nearly a thousand buildings have developed threatening cracks
Source - Former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh
Following wide cracks in Joshimath, a major pilgrimage town located above 6,000 feet in Uttarakhand, the Prime Minister Office has held a review meeting with several agencies representing the state and central organisations.
While affected families are being shifted to safety, team of experts from National Disaster Management Authority, National Institute of Disaster Management, Geological Survey of India, IIT Roorkee, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Institute of Hydrology and Central Building Research Institute have been tasked to study and give recommendations.
In the PMO meeting, the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand informed that a strip of land with a width of around 350 meters is affected.
Sources say that the problem of landslides started as early as a year ago, likely due to the widening of roads and other projects. While geologists says that the town is on a major fault-line on the Himalayas, religious leaders believe there is a wide tunnel beneath the town.
Former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said, “For 26 months when I was Environment Minister, I grappled with the development-environment issue in Uttarakhand. In a vast majority of cases, I decided in favour of ecological protection. This didn’t win me many friends, but these visuals from Joshimath vindicates my position.”
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