Mallika Dureja
People in Joshi protest. Hundreds of people who have been hurt by Joshimath’s sinking took to the streets on Friday to protest what they said was a slow pace of work to save the town.
“There is still not the sense of urgency that is needed to save Joshimath. Some of the problems that haven’t been solved yet are permanent rehabilitation and compensation along the lines of Badrinath, as well as the end of the NTPC project for good “Kamal Raturi, who speaks for the Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, said.
As the protesters marched from the Tapovan taxi stand, across the main road, and to the Ved Vedang ground in Singhdhar ward, they shouted slogans.
Locals say that digging a 12-km tunnel for the 520 MW Tapovan Vishnugad hydroelectric project by the National Thermal Power Corporation made Joshimath sink even more.
The NTPC has said that there is no connection between the project and the sinking, since the tunnel is more than a kilometre below the ground and not below Joshimath.
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Ranjit Kumar Sinha, Secretary of Disaster Management, told the media about the relief efforts going on in Joshimath. He said that 863 houses have cracks and that the water flow in the JP colony area has dropped to 171 LPM.
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— prem piram (@PiramPrem) January 26, 2023
He said that about 250 families have been moved to temporary relief centres and that Rs. 3.36 crore has been given to the affected people as temporary aid.
Sinha said that the horticulture department’s land in Joshimath is still being used to build model pre-fab shelters, and that the work should be done soon. In the village of Dhak in the Chamoli district, work is also going on to improve the land for pre-made transition centres.
In the village of Dhak in the Chamoli district, work is also going on to improve the land for pre-made transition centres.
