Joshimath land subsidence: Crack meters to assess damage; GSI nod to 4 spots for pre-fabricated huts for those affected

The Geological Survey of India has also approved as suitable four of the five places proposed by the government for building prefabricated houses for those affected in the subsidence.

People affected by the gradual ‘sinking’ of the houses load their belongings in a truck as they move to a safer place, in Joshimath. (PTI)

“I have talked to the District Magistrate and other concerned officials, and we would create model prefabricated structures of one, two, and three-bedroom sets, and show it to the people. If the people find that okay then they can start living in these places. We would first create a model and when satisfied, we would build more based on the demand,” Secretary, Disaster Management, Ranjit Kumar Sinha told reporters.

Sinha also said that Rs 2.85 crore has so far been distributed to 190 affected families as advance compensation by the state government. There is “news of relief”, he said, that the initial discharge of water in Joshimath, which was 540 LPM (litres per minute) on 6 January, has now fallen to 163 LPM.

“So far damage assessment of 400 houses has been done. A hydrological survey is also being done by National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI). The CBRI, IIT Roorkee, Wadia Institute, Geological Survey of India, and the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) are working in Joshimath,” Sinha said.

Cracks in a house in the Joshimath of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Cracks started appearing in the houses due to landslides causing panic spread in the whole city. (PTI)

On the relief and rehabilitation of the affected families, Sinha said 615 rooms have been set up in temporary relief camps in Joshimath, with a capacity of 2,190 people, besides 491 rooms in Pipalkoti with a capacity of 2,205 people.

“Under the relief amount distributed to the affected, at the rate of Rs 5,000 per family, Rs 3.65 lakh has been distributed to the 73 affected families for domestic relief material,” he said.

According to official data, 165 of the damaged 849 structures are located in the unsafe area.