Centre sets timelines for institutions to submit their reports on sinking crisis of Joshimath

The flow of water from an underground channel near JP Colony in the Marwari area of Joshimath that burst on January 2 has ebbed further to 123 litre per minute

A resident shows cracks that appeared in a house, in a land subsidence-affected area in Joshimath, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. The Centre on Tuesday set separate timelines for the institutions conducting geophysical and hydrological studies of the crisis in subsidence-hit Joshimath to submit their reports while the state government decided to demolish 15 completely damaged houses in the JP colony. Image for representational purposes only. | Photo Credit: PTI

The Centre on Tuesday set separate timelines for the institutions conducting geophysical and hydrological studies of the crisis in subsidence-hit Joshimath to submit their reports while the state government decided to demolish 15 completely damaged houses in the JP colony.

Meanwhile, the flow of water from an underground channel near JP Colony in the Marwari area of Joshimath that burst on January 2 has ebbed further to 123 litre per minute.

Water flow stood at an alarming 540 LPM initially.

The Central Building Research Institute has been given three weeks' time to submit its report, the National Geophysical Research Institute two weeks for the preliminary report and three weeks for the final report while the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology got two weeks for the preliminary report and three weeks for the final, Secretary, Disaster Management Ranjit Kumar Sinha told reporters here.

Similarly, the Geological Survey of India has been given two weeks for its preliminary report and two months for the final report and the Central Ground Water Board has got one week's time for the submission of the preliminary report and three weeks for the final report, he said.

The state government has distributed Rs 3.10 crore to 207 affected families as advance for the displacement while a piece of land belonging to the Horticulture Department near TCP Tiraha, Joshimath has been identified for the construction of model pre-fabricated huts with one, two, and three bedrooms, Sinha said.

The huts will be built in a week and further action will be taken in accordance with the choice of affected people, he added.

Fifteen heavily damaged buildings of JP colony have been identified and their mechanical demolition will start soon, Sinha said.

The number of buildings that have developed cracks has risen to 849 and 250 families have so far been evacuated to safety.

There are a total 615 rooms in Joshimath with a capacity of 2,190 people and 491 rooms in Pipalkoti with a capacity of 2,205 people have been made into temporary relief camps, he said.

The secretary informed that seven areas/wards have been declared unsafe in Sunil, five in Manoharbagh, two in Singhdhar, and one in Gandhinagar while 167 buildings are located in the unsafe area.

Meanwhile, state education minister Dhan Singh Rawat said students in subsidence-hit areas of Joshimath will be given an option to choose their centres for the board examinations in accordance with their convenience.