The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) will on Sunday hold a high-level meeting over the crisis in Uttarakhand's Joshimath.
In Joshimath, cracks have developed in houses across the town and around 600 families have been forced to leave their homes. Some buildings have tilted as the foundations have sunk in the Earth partially and the town is being called a "sinking town".
The PMO on Sunday said PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, will hold the meeting with top Union and state officials.
"Principal Secretary to PM Dr P K Mishra will hold a high level review with Cabinet Secretary and senior officials of Government of India and members of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) at PMO today afternoon. District officials of Joshimath will also remain present through video conference on this issue," said the statement from the PMO.
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The statement added that senior officers of Uttarakhand will also attend the meeting through video conference.
Residents in Joshimath and the Opposition have blamed heavy construction activities in the region for the crisis.
Joshimath residents hold the NTPC's Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project mainly responsible for the situation.
An activist said the issue was being raised for 14 months but no attention was paid.
Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti Convenor Atul Sati said, "We have been drawing the attention of authorities for the past 14 months. But we were not heeded. Now when the situation is getting out of hand, they are sending expert teams to assess things. If attention was paid in time to what we were saying things would not have been so alarming in Joshimath."
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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, ""The pictures coming from Joshimath in Uttarakhand are horrifying...I am deeply disturbed. Wide cracks in houses, seepage of water, cracks in the ground and subsidence of roads are a matter of great concern...A landslide caused the Bhagwati temple to collapse. Going against nature by continuous digging and unplanned construction on the mountains has led to the people of Joshimath facing a terrible crisis today."
Rahul called upon the Uttarakhand government to "take care of people in this harsh weather and arrange for their immediate rehabilitation and ensure the safety of the temple".
He said, "In this bitter cold, this calamity has taken away the homes of people. I appeal to all the Congress workers there to help the people at the earliest and take them to safe places."
Joshimath area in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district falls in the seismic zone 5, the most serious zone, as per a seismic map of Uttarakhand on state government's website.
"Zone V is seismically the most active region, while zone II is the least. Approximately, ~ 11% area of the country falls in zone V, ~18% in zone IV, ~ 30% in zone III and remaining in zone II," said the Ministry of Earth Science in 2021.
(With PTI inputs)
