Snowfall, Rain In Sinking Joshimath Adds To People's Struggle In Relief Camps

Snowfall and rain in various parts of Uttarakhand today intensified the cold, adding to the people's struggle who are living in temporary relief camps amid land subsidence in 'sinking town' Joshimath.

Apart from Joshimath, located at a height of around 6,000 feet, many famous locations in the higher altitudes of Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts, including Badrinath, skiing destination Auli, Kedarnath, Hemkund Sahib, Nanda Devi National Park and the Valley of Flowers also witnessed snowfall, officials said.

Of the 47 villages in the Chamoli district affected by snowfall, 19 are in the Ghat sub-division, 13 in Joshimath, eight in Gairsain and seven in the Chamoli sub-division, the District Disaster Management office said.

Dehradun also woke to an early morning drizzle while Mussoorie, a popular tourist spot, received the season's first snowfall. The plains in the state, including Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts, were enveloped in fog.

Snowfall in the high-altitude areas continues and overcast conditions prevail in most of the places in the plains, officials said.

Dismantling of unsafe hotels and houses in Joshimath has been temporarily halted due to bad weather, Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said.

According to officials, as many as 849 houses in Joshimath have developed cracks following land subsidence and 258 families have been moved to temporary relief centres.
 

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