Joshimath crisis: COAS Manoj Pande assures Army's full assistance to Uttarakhand govt

As Joshimath, a historic temple town in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, is 'sinking' due to land subsidence, hundreds of houses have developed cracks and over 600 families in Joshimath have been rehabilitated. Addressing the annual Army Day press conference on Thursday, January 12, Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande spoke about the current situation in Joshimath. He asserted that 25-28 buildings of the Army have developed minor cracks and the soldiers have been temporarily relocated.

"If needed, they will be permanently relocated to Auli. As far as the bypass road (in Joshimath, Uttarakhand) is concerned, the work has been temporarily halted. But our accessibility to forward areas and operational readiness has not been affected. We will provide all assistance to the local administration," COAS General Manoj Pande said. 

Army Chief General Pande also said that the army is working towards providing all possible assistance to the local administration regarding the crisis.

CM Dhami announces Rs 45 crore rehabilitation package

Earlier in the day, the Uttarakhand state government announced a relief package of Rs 45 crore to families in Joshimath, where large cracks appeared in homes and on roads. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the relief package has been released for nearly 3,000 families affected by gradual land subsidence in the Himalayan state. 

"For the time being, interim assistance of Rs 1.50 lakh per family is being given. An advance amount of Rs 1 lakh has been given to the affected land owners or families due to landslides in the affected area before the permanent settlement displacement policy is prepared," CM Dhami told reporters. 

The Chief Minister also announced that an amount of Rs 50,000 has been given by the state disaster authority to each family as non-adjustable one-time special grant for the transportation of goods and immediate needs of their buildings. 

Earlier in the day, sources said that a team of experts from CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) will be leaving for Joshimath in Uttarakhand to conduct subsurface physical mapping of the affected town.

"The 10-member team headed by NGRI's senior principal scientist Anand K Pandey is expected to reach the site on January 13 and start their work from the following day. The tests are expected to continue for two weeks, and the collated data would then be analysed to ascertain the reason for the sinking of the ground there," sources said. 

It is worth noting that Joshimath is the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib and the international skiing destination Auli.