In view of the land subsidence in Joshimath affecting more than 700 structures, the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has released satellite images of Joshimath that revealed that a rapid subsidence of 5.4cm has been recorded in 12 days -- between December 27, 2022 and January 8, 2023.
In its observation, the NRSC noted that the sinking rate has been rapid as between April 2022 and November 2022, Joshimath saw a slow subsidence of 9 cm. The NSRC said a rapid subsidence event was triggered between December last week and January first week.
The subsidence zone is located at central Joshimath including the Army Helipad and Narsingh Mandir, the satellite images showed. The crown of the subsidence is located near Joshimath-Auli road at a height of 2,180m.
The organisation used InSAR technique to identify the possible location and extent of land subsidence in long and short time intervals.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that authorities are rehabilitating families affected due to land subsidence in Joshimath and that the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been deployed in the area.
The holy town with a population of around 20,000 has been declared disaster-prone by the local authorities. “The Joshimath area has been declared disaster-prone. Construction activities have been banned in Joshimath and nearby areas,” the Chamoli DM said. Around 462 people belonging to 131 families have been evacuated and relocated to relief centres, ANI quoted Himanshu Khurana, District Magistrate, Chamoli as saying.
The state government announced that every affected family will be given Rs 1.5 lakh immediately as compensation for losing their home. "The Chief Minister has announced an interim aid of Rs 1,50,000 for affected families. Along with this, Rs 50,000 as additional assistance will be given to those facing difficulties," said R. Meenakshi Sundaram, Secretary to Uttarakhand CM.
The demolition process of two "unsafe" hotels in Joshimath began on Thursday with an agreement between the administration and the property owners who had stalled the exercise for the last two days demanding compensation.
Hotels Malari Inn and Mount View had developed cracks and were precariously leaning towards each other posing a threat to the settlements around them, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying.
(With Agency Inputs)