Uttarakhand: Prime Minister Modi’s Office To Hold High-Level Meet On Sinking Of Joshimath

Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dr P K Mishra, will hold a high level review regarding the sinking of Joshimath town in Uttarakhand.

The review will take place with the Cabinet Secretary, senior officials of the Government of India and members of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) today (8 January) afternoon.

District Officials of Joshimath will present through Video Conference (VC) on this issue. Senior officers of Uttarakhand will also attend the review through VC.

So far, hundreds of houses in different areas of Joshimath have developed cracks.

Located at a height of 6,000 feet in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, the town on the route to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib falls in high-risk seismic 'Zone-V'.

Recently, the town observed a bandh to protest against administrative indifference to the plight of residents and the 'NTPC projects which have led to its gradual sinking.'

It must be noted that in June 2022, a group of scientists have pointed out that Joshimath in Uttarakhand 'will sink' unless excavation for the different developmental works is stopped immediately.

The team including scientists Dr Navin Juyal from the Supreme Court - appointed Char Dham high-powered committee, Dr SP Sati and Professor Shubhra Sharm has stressed on the need for another integrated study involving glaciologists, geologists, botanists and environmentalists.

Works for the power plants project, the Char Dham road, are ongoing in the town. The construction, the report mentions, is among the "top external forces supplementing the stress" in the landscape.