Sinking Joshimath: Locals in tears

As the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) members met Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami regarding the looming disaster due to land subsidence at Joshimath in Chamoli district on Monday, many residents are reluctant to leave their homes declared unsafe.

Now, the number of cracked homes has increased to 678 with more than 80 families being shifted to temporary accommodations arranged by the authorities.     

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday asked a petitioner seeking the court’s intervention to declare the crisis in Joshimath as a national disaster to mention his plea Tuesday for urgent listing. 

Uttarakhand Chief Secretary SS Sandhu stressed that every minute is important and directed immediate evacuation of people from the affected zone.

As the situation of Joshimath is getting worst with the each passing day, Joshimath locals and residential people broke down into tears as their homes have been marked unsafe by the district administration. 

Notably, Joshimath administration had asked people to vacate the areas affected by subsidence and as of now 678 buildings marked have been marked 'unsafe'. In a video shared by ANI, people can be seen getting emotional and breaking down in tears as they leave their homes that have been affected by landslides and subsidence.

"This is my maternal home. I got married at the age of 19. My mother is 80 years old and I have an elder brother. We built this home by working hard and making an earning. We lived here for 60 years but it is all ending now," Bindu, one of the residents in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath, told ANI.

On the other hand, angry locals have come out to the streets protesting against the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) related construction works, ANI reported.