Sunday, 15 January 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The rainfall in the Joshimath city and snowfall in the nearby mountains has compounded the problems of the affected families in the Joshimath city suffering from the problem of land subsidence. The discharge of the underground water in the JP colony area that created an alarm about the possibility of an impending disaster has again increased on Saturday. The discharge had subsided down in recent days but on Saturday it again increased. The disaster management secretary Ranjit Sinha told media persons on Saturday that the discharge of underground water has increased. He said that probably the discharge has increased due to the rains in the area which points out that the source of the underground water discharge in the JP colony area is superficial. He however added that the experts would tell about the exact cause of discharge of water. Sinha said that in view of the extreme cold, the district administration has made arrangements for heaters in the relief camps. He said that the number of the houses that have developed cracks due to land subsidence has increased to 782 in the latest survey. A total of 148 buildings have been declared unsafe in the worst affected four wards of the city. In an important development the district administration has decided to construct model houses (prefabricated structures ) for use as temporary shelter of the affected families. Sinha said that these model structures would be set up in the land of the family concerned provided it is located in a safe area. He said that some families have approached for these dwellings and they would be set up within a week. He said that these shelters would be constructed at the cost of Rs 450 per square feet by the selected agencies. Sinha added that the interim compensation of Rs 1.50 lakh has been distributed to 125 families so far. He said that 223 families have been shifted to safer places in the city.
