This Article is From Jan 08, 2023

PM's Office Calls Key Meet On 'Sinking' Uttarakhand Town Joshimath

PK Mishra, the principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held the review meeting with the cabinet secretary, other senior officials.

Over 600 families have been asked to leave Joshimath.

New Delhi:

The Prime Minister's office held a high-level meeting after hundreds of buildings in Uttarakhand's Joshimath developed cracks due to shifting soil, prompting authorities to move hundreds of people from their homes in the area popular with pilgrims and tourists.

PK Mishra, the principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held the review meeting with the cabinet secretary, other senior officials of the central government and members of the National Disaster Management Authority, an official statement said.

District officials of Joshimath besides senior officials of Uttarakhand will also attend the review meeting through video-conferencing.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had visited Joshimath on Saturday to assess the situation on the ground, a day after he directed immediate evacuation of around 600 affected families, promising all effort to save the town.

For years, experts have warned that large-scale construction work, including hydropower projects, in and around Joshimath could lead to land subsidence - the sinking or settling of the ground surface.

A town of around 17,000 people, Joshimath is a gateway to pilgrimages to Hindu and Sikh shrines, like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, and popular with tourists looking to trek parts of the Himalayas or ski in Auli.

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