Joshimath subsidence: Administration has made arrangements for families

CHAMOLI: With the land subsidence continuing at Joshimath town of Uttarakhand, the district administration has made arrangements for the affected families.

Following the appearance of large cracks in houses and roads, a total of 66 families are reported to have migrated from Joshimath as of now.

"The district administration has made arrangements for the families affected by the natural calamity to stay in 'safe relief camps'," the administration said on Sunday.

District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana visited the relief camps last night and took stock of the arrangements. "If there is any requirement, it is being made available immediately," he said.

Residents of Joshimath, a sacred town in the hilly state of Uttarakhand, have been alarmed after fissures started appearing in the houses and roadways and have been evacuated and shifted to night shelters of the municipality by the administration.

According to the District Disaster Management Department, cracks have reportedly developed in as many as 561 houses in Joshimath as a result of continued land subsidence in the town.

The affected people, their families, and children are currently living in night shelters, officials said.

The locals said that the people affected by the landslide, have been assured by the government that they will get pre-fabricated houses.

However, they are worried about when the houses will be allotted to them. Meanwhile, the state government has dispatched a team of experts to the area to assess the situation.

The teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have also been deployed in the area as a precautionary measure, Chamoli Chief Development Officer (CDO) Lalit Narayan Mishra said on Friday.