Army relocates troops from subsidence-hit Joshimath

Minor cracks were observed in several buildings of the Indian Army after the Joshimath land subsidence and soldiers have been temporarily relocated, said Army Chief General Manoj Pande on Thursday.

Addressing the annual Army Day press conference, General Pande said, "25-28 buildings (of the Army) have developed minor cracks and the soldiers have been temporarily relocated. If needed they will be permanently relocated to Auli."

Despite the ongoing crisis, the Army chief affirmed that the army's accessibility to the forward areas has not been affected.

"As far as the bypass road (in Joshimath, Uttarakhand) is concerned, the work has been temporarily halted. But our accessibility to forward areas and operational readiness has not been affected," the Army chief said.

General Pande also said that the army is working towards providing all possible assistance to the local administration regarding the crisis.

Earlier on Thursday, the Uttarakhand state government announced a relief package of Rs 45 crore to families in Joshimath, where large cracks appeared in homes and on roads.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the relief package has been released for nearly 3,000 families affected by gradual land subsidence in the Himalayan state.

"For the time being, interim assistance of Rs 1.50 lakh per family is being given. An advance amount of Rs 1 lakh has been given to the affected land owners or families due to landslides in the affected area before the permanent settlement displacement policy is prepared," Dhami told reporters.

The chief minister also announced that Rs 50,000 has been given by the state disaster authority to each family as a non-adjustable one-time special grant for the transportation of goods and immediate needs of their buildings.

Due to landslides in the Joshimath city area, over 720 buildings have been identified that developed cracks.

Residents, as a part of the rehabilitation, have been moved to safer places even as geologists and experts scramble to ascertain the reasons for subsidence in the ecologically fragile region.