Topmost priority is to rescue everyone, scientists looking into 'sinking' Joshimath: Uttarakhand CM Dhami

Joshimath (Uttarakhand) [India], January 7 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that scientists were looking into the cause of the land subsidence in the state's Joshimath and the first priority remains to ensure that people are taken to safer areas.
Dhami conducted a survey of the areas in the town where houses and other establishments, roads and fields have displayed cracks due to land subsidence. The chief minister also met with displaced families who were relocated after cracks were seen in their houses.
Earlier in the day he conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas.
Speaking to ANI after surveying the Marwari area of Joshimath and Narasingh temple, Dhami said that the walls in Joshimath are developing cracks due to the water seepage and added that they are trying to safeguard and rescue everyone safely.
"The walls have developed cracked due to the seepage of water. It is our first priority to rescue everyone safely and make necessary arrangements to move them to safer places," Dhami said adding an investigation has been launched to find out the cause of the land subsidence.
"Geoscientists and experts at various institutions like Guwahati institute, IIT Roorkee are working to find the actual cause of the land subsidence. We are even in talks with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). We are also contemplating if people need to be migrated from here and rehabilitated. We are also finding out a location for this. As of now, this is the winter season. So, we are looking into the issues that need to be addressed immediately. Moreover, we are also focussing to safeguard the people here before the onset of monsoon," Dhami added.
Addressing mediapersons here, he said that it is a task to evacuate everyone safely, but they are taking necessary steps to keep it safe for the future as well because of varied reasons including that the first Math was also established here. The town is a very important place for the entire country, the chief minister added.
The chief minister had before arriving in the town conducted an aerial survey of Joshimath.
Huge cracks have been seen in houses, roads and fields and many houses have suffered subsidence. Cracks have been found at several places on the Joshimath-Malari border road, which connects the India-China border, due to landslides in Joshimath. A large part of the Badrinath National Highway is also in the grip of landslides.
Joshimath Municipal Chairman Shailendra Pawar said huge cracks appeared in the houses due to water leakage from inside the ground in the Marwadi ward.
The central government on Friday set up a panel to conduct a study of the occurrence of land subsidence and its impact on Joshimath town.
District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said that all construction work has been halted in view of the situation in Joshimath until further orders.
According to the Chamoli district administration statement on Friday, out of 561 establishments, 153 in Ravigram ward, 127 in the Gandhinagar ward, 28 in the Marwadi ward, 24 in the Lower Bazaar ward, 52 in the Singhdhar ward, 71 in the Manohar Bagh ward, 29 in the Upper Bazaar ward 27 in the Sunil ward and 50 in Parsari have reported cracks, due to which the operations of Hotel View and Malari Inn were restricted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, till further orders.
On Thursday, nine families were displaced, including four families in Joshimath Municipal Corporation, one from Gurudwara Joshimath, one from Tourist Hostel, Manohar Bagh and others.
Locals of Joshimath had blocked the Badrinath Highway on Thursday morning to protest and get the government and administration to take the matter of land subsidence seriously.
A total of 38 families have been displaced so far.
Meanwhile, with the continuous land subsidence in the Joshimath, the state government has dispatched a team of experts to the area to assess the situation.
The teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have also been deployed in the area as a precautionary measure, Chamoli Chief Development Officer (CDO) Lalit Narayan Mishra said on Friday. (ANI)