Joshimath residents reluctant to evacuate, Uttarakhand Chief Secy says every minute is important

Every minute is critical, said Uttarakhand Chief Secretary SS Sandhu as he directed immediate evacuation of people from Joshimath, where land subsidence has left gaping cracks in structures and roads. This is amid reports that many residents were reluctant to leave their homes that have been declared unsafe.

Also Read: 'Sinking' Joshimath: 'This is not the end... the entire area will change'

On Monday, cracks appeared in 68 more houses in the town. With this, the total number of houses impacted by subsidence rose to 678. According to the Disaster Management Authority-Chamoli, 27 more families were evacuated to safety on Monday. In total, 82 families have been shifted to safer locations.

The district administration has painted red cross marks on over 200 houses considered unsafe to live in. Authorities have asked occupants to shift to the temporary relief centres or take up rented accommodation for which every family would be provided assistance of Rs 4000 per month for the next six months.

National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force personnel have been deployed for rescue and relief operations.

The Uttarakhand Chief Secretary met officials at the state secretariat to review the situation in Joshimath. He directed that even as the evacuation exercise needed to be speeded up, work needed to start immediately on stopping toe erosion in the subsidence-hit areas. He also ordered the demolition of dilapidated houses with huge cracks to prevent further damage. Besides, the chief secretary said that broken sewer lines and drinking water pipelines need to be repaired on a war footing. 

Residents reluctant to leave

Meanwhile, residents of the area, whose lives have been uprooted due to the subsidence, are finding it hard to sever their emotional ties with their homes. In fact, unable to overcome the pull of home, people who have been shifted to temporary shelters keep returning to their abandoned houses in the danger zone.

Parmeshwari Devi, an elderly resident of Marwari ward, which is one of the worst-hit in Joshimath, said she spent her entire savings on building a house for herself, and now she was being told to shift to a relief camp.

"Where will I get the comfort of my own home? I prefer to die rather than go anywhere," Devi told a private news channel.

Manoharbhagh resident Suraj Kaparwan and his family are still trying to make up their mind to evacuate from their home.

Singdhar resident Rishi Devi's home is gradually caving in. Despite being evacuated to a safe location, she keeps returning home every day. She sits in the courtyard and stares at the crack-riddled walls. 

Gandhinagar resident Rama Devi's family had to leave the house in a panic. "We started sleeping in the verandah as our room used to shake every now and then. We were scared. We are now moving to a rented accommodation after the verandah developed cracks last night," he said.

'Declare Joshimath as national calamity'

The Congress party has demanded that all developmental projects in Uttarakhand's Joshimath be halted till an expert report is submitted on the issue, and the situation in the region should be declared a national calamity.

Terming the subsidence as a man-made disaster, the opposition party sought enhanced compensation for each house affected due to the 'unbridled development' in the area. It also asked the government to preserve the old Joshimath town and develop a new town to rehabilitate residents.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that unbridled development had created cracks in Uttarakhand's 'Devsthal'. He demanded that those who had lost their homes should be given adequate compensation from the PM CARES fund rather than a mere Rs 5000.

Former chief minister Harish Rawat demanded that a 'new Joshimath' be established while preserving the old town and that the compensation is increased to Rs 50,000 per victim.

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has asked the petitioner who sought the apex court's intervention in declaring the crisis in Joshimath as a national disaster to mention his plea on Tuesday for urgent listing.

Locals and the opposition Congress blame the NTPC tunnel and the Char Dham all-weather road construction for the aggravation of land subsidence in the town.

Also Read: Joshimath land subsidence: Officials mark buildings on danger zones with red cross