The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Sunday held a high-level meeting with top officials of Uttarakhand to review the crisis in Joshimath where sinking of land and cracks in houses at several places have triggered an alarm.
P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, held talks with Chief Secretary S.S. Sandhu and Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar at the meeting which was also attended by the cabinet secretary and senior officials of the Central government and members of the National Disaster Management Authority.
“First of all, this is the effort that no one should be harmed, people should be shifted from where there is a risk, and the reasons should be found out quickly. The Government of India has spoken to the experts, and even tomorrow a team of experts is reaching Joshimath,” Sandhu said.
He said the cause of the landslide is being ascertained by a team of expert scientists from across the country and whatever treatment is necessary will be done. Soon after the meeting, the DGP, along with R.K. Meenakshi Sundaram, secretary to the chief minister, conducted an on-site inspection of the landslide areas.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and reviewed the steps taken for the safety and rehabilitation of the affected people.
“PM Modi spoke to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami over the telephone and inquired about the steps taken for the safety and rehabilitation of the affected residents and the progress of the immediate and long-term action plan to solve the problem,” said a statement issued by the CMO.
Further, Secretary, Border Management and all four members of NDMA will visit Uttarakhand on Monday. They will undertake a detailed assessment on the findings of the technical teams (NDMA, NIDM, NDRF, GSI, NIH, Wadia Institute, IIT Roorkee) that have just returned from Joshimath and advice State Govt. on immediate, short-medium-long-term actions to address the situation.
The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister stressed that the immediate priorities for the state should be the Safety of the people living in the affected area. State Government should establish a clear and continuous communication channel with the affected people.
