Page 8 - Uttarakhand

Centre to set up micro-seismic observation systems at Joshimath: Minister

The Centre on Tuesday announced that it will install micro seismic observation systems at Joshimath--the gradually sinking Himalayan town in Uttarakhand. Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh made the announcement at the India-UK Workshop of Geosciences here and said the observation systems will be in place by Wednesday. Addressing the workshop, he said there was a critical need for fundamental research on the physical processes that lead to failure of the brittle layers beneath the crust and sub-crust. The minister noted that human consequences of natural disasters in India were rising rapidly and stressed on the need to devise proper mitigation strategies. Singh said the Ministry of Earth Sciences had established 37 new seismological centres in the last two years for extensive observation facilities, generating a huge database for outcome-oriented analytics. He said in the next five years, 100 more such seismological centres will be opened across the country for improving real

Joshimath: SC declines urgent hearing, says institutions working on it

The petitioner had sought the court's intervention to declare the land subsidence in Joshimath as a national disaster.

Govt declares Joshimath as landslide, susbsidence zone; here's why

Many residents have also blamed state-owned NTPC's Tapovan Vishnugad Hydro Power Project for the incident

Best of BS Opinion: Unscientific development, taxing demands, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Unscientific development

Joshimath subsidence is a warning sign

Joshimath crisis: Residents refuse to leave, 'every min imp', says official

As many residents remain reluctant to leave their homes that have been declared unsafe due to land subsidence in Joshimath, Uttarakhand Chief Secretary SS Sandhu on Monday stressed that every minute is important and directed immediate evacuation of people from the affected zone. The district administration had put red cross marks on more than 200 houses in the sinking town that are unsafe for living. It asked their occupants to either shift to the temporary relief centres or rented accommodation for which each family will get assistance of Rs 4000 per month for the next six months from the state government. Cracks appeared in 68 more houses on Monday taking the number of subsidence affected homes to 678 while 27 more families were evacuated to safety, a bulletin from the Disaster Management Authority Chamoli said. So far 82 families have been shifted to safe locations in the town, it said. Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been

Govt apathy to repeated warnings reason for Joshimath crisis: Activist

Geological factors apart, the failure of successive governments to act on the warnings by experts about possible hazards in Joshimath and adjoining areas has emerged as a major reason behind the land subsidence crisis that has now grips the town, environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt said on Monday. Yet another effort has been made by the state government for a scientific study with the help of satellite imagery of the crisis in the sinking town, Bhatt, who is associated with the Chipko Movement, said. However, a detailed zonation mapping of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, warning of the lurking dangers in Joshimath, had been submitted to the state government more than two decades ago, he said. The study carried out using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) by around twelve leading scientific organisations of the country including the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) had been submitted to the state government way back in 2001, he said. The

Joshimath: SC asks petitioner to mention PIL on Tuesday for urgent listing

The Supreme Court has asked a petitioner, who has sought the court's intervention to declare the crisis in Uttarakhand's Joshimath as a national disaster, to mention his plea Tuesday for urgent listing. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha on Monday asked advocate Parmeshwar Nath Mishra, appearing for Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, who mentioned out of turn for urgent listing of the plea, to follow the process and again mention on Tuesday. "Mention again on Tuesday after following the due process when your matter is in the mentioning list", the bench said. Saraswati has contended that the incident has occurred due to large-scale industrialisation and sought immediate financial assistance and compensation to the people of Uttarakhand. The plea has also sought direction to the National Disaster Management Authority to actively support the residents of Joshimath in this challenging time. "No development is needed at the cost of human life and their ..

Delhi colder than hills of Uttarakhand, Himachal for 5th day on trot

Delhi saw cold wave conditions for the fifth consecutive day on Monday as very dense fog reduced visibility to just 25 metres, hitting road, rail and air traffic movement, officials said. The cold wave spell in Delhi has been so intense that the national capital has recorded a minimum temperature lower than that of most places in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand for five days on the trot. Meteorologists attribute the long spell of intense cold to a large gap between two western disturbances, which meant frosty winds from the snow-clad mountains blew in for a longer-than-usual period. The visibility levels dropped to 25 metres at the Palam observatory, near the IGI Airport, and the Safdarjung observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Around 29 trains have been delayed by two to five hours due to the foggy weather, a railway official said. Around 15 flights were delayed and one was diverted due to the bad weather, ..

Joshimath 'sinking': Admin asks residents to move to relief centres

Joshimath has been declared a 'sinking zone' in the wake of continuing land subsidence, with several homes and roads developing cracks over the last few days

Experts point to old fault lines as Joshimath hits 'point of no return'

As the arguement over ecology versus development continues, experts believe halting construction now won't serve any purpose

Joshimath subsidence: PMO holds review meeting with Uttarakhand officials

Joshimath is the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib and the international skiing destination, Auli

PMO holds high-level review meeting on situation in Uttarakhand's Joshimath

Central government agencies and experts are assisting Uttarakhand to prepare short, medium and long term plans to deal with the Joshimath situation, officials said on Sunday after the Prime Minister's Office held a high-level review meeting. One team of the National Disaster Response Force and four teams of the State Disaster Response Force have already reached Joshimath, where people are in alarm due to land subsidence and cracks have developed in hundreds of houses. Affected families are being shifted to safe locations, officials said. The Border Management secretary and members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will visit Uttarakhand on Monday and assess the situation A team of experts from NDMA, National Institute of Disaster Management, Geological Survey of India, IIT Roorkee, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Institute of Hydrology and Central Building Research Institute will study the situations and give recommendations, they said. During the

Experts blame Joshimath disaster to rampant infrastructure development

"There are two aspects to Joshimath problem-- first is rampant infrastructure development which is happening in a very fragile ecosystem like Himalayas. Secondly, climate change is a force multiplier"

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Some areas of Uttarakhand's Joshimath declared disaster-affected

Uttarakhand government declared some areas of Joshimath as disaster-affected areas, based on recommendations of the experts who had been surveying the houses to identify the causes of the landslides

PM speaks to Uttarakhand CM on Joshimath land subsidence, rehabilitation

In a telephonic conversation wih Uttarakhand Chief Minister, PM inquired about steps taken for safety and rehabilitation of affected residents of Joshimath in the wake of the land subsidence incident

Plea in HC to constitute committee to rehabilitate people of Joshimath

A petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the Centre to constitute a committee headed by a retired judge to look into the issue of sinking of Joshimath in Uttarakhand and rehabilitate the affected families. Cracks have appeared in hundreds of houses of Joshimath, the gateway to some renowned pilgrimage sites like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib. Highlighting the woes of over 3000 people of Joshimath, the plea said cracks have developed in at least 570 houses due to continued land subsidence. After sinking of land, apparently caused by climate and infrastructural changes, over 60 families are reported to have left the town while others are either risking their lives by staying there or searching for an alternate accommodation in winter, it claimed. Petitioner and advocate Rohit Dandriyal claimed the construction activities done by the ministries of Road Transport and Highways and Power, New and Renewable Energy, in the town of Joshimath in past years have

NRSC, IIRS to conduct study of Joshimath through satellite images

The Uttarakhand government has requested the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad and the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehradun to conduct a study of Joshimath area through satellite images and submit a detailed report with photographs. Meanwhile, the Geological Survey of India has been asked to examine the suitability of Koti Farm, Herb Institute and the horticulture department's land in Joshimath and in Pipalkoti's Semaldala area for rehabilitation purposes. The requests were made after Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami returned from his visit to the affected areas in Joshimath and held a meeting with senior officials here Saturday night. Apart from these, IIT-Roorkee, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Institute of Hydrology Roorkee and Director CSIR, Central Building Research Institute Roorkee have also done a detailed survey and study of Joshimath area and will soon submit their report to the government. The chief minister also asked ...

PMO to hold high-level meeting today over crisis in Uttarakhand's Joshimath

The Prime Minister's Office will hold a high-level meeting on the Joshimath crisis on Sunday afternoon amid alarm in the Uttarakhand region due to sinking of land and cracks in houses at several places. P K Mishra, the principal secretary to the prime minister, will hold the review meeting with the cabinet secretary, other senior officials of the central government and members of the National Disaster Management Authority, an official statement said. District officials of Joshimath besides senior officials of Uttarakhand will also attend the review meeting through video-conferencing. Uttrakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had visited Joshimath on Saturday to assess the situation on the ground, a day after he directed immediate evacuation of around 600 affected families. Dhami said Joshimath is an important place from the cultural, religious and tourism point of view and all efforts will be made to save it. Joshimath, the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites like Badrinath and