With media giving a wide coverage to Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) data on ground subsidence at Joshimath in Uttarakhand, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Saturday directed scientific departments and Government authorities not to share such details with the media till a conclusion is drawn.
The NDMA pointed out that the data released by Government institutions are creating confusion among residents. Uttarakhand Minister Dhan Singh Rawat said on Saturday that the ISRO images have been withdrawn. Rawat said ISRO has not issued an official statement on the basis of the images.
“I had seen the satellite images of Joshimath on ISRO’s website. I spoke to ISRO’s Director and asked him why he is not issuing an official statement in this regard. Now I am told the images have been withdrawn,†he told reporters.
In the meantime, several teams of environment and climate scientists are carrying out inspections of the affected areas to see if there’s a possibility of more land subsidence or if the land can be restored to its original state, which scientist Dr JC Kuniyal termed a “matter of challenge for themâ€.
This, even as huge cracks were reported to have appeared in the ropeway platform connecting Joshimath to Auli following which the service has been halted till further orders.
Satellite images taken from the Cartosat-2S satellite and released by ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Centre showed that Joshimath sank 5.4 cm between December 27 and January 8. The massive soil sinking occurred due to “a rapid subsidence event that was triggered on January 2, 2023â€.
“It is observed that various Government institutions are releasing data related to the subject matter on social media platforms and they are also interacting with the media with their own interpretation of the situation. It is creating confusion not only among affected residents but also among citizens of the country,†the NDMA stated.
It said the issue was highlighted during a meeting chaired by the Union Home Minister on January 12.
It pointed out an expert group has been formed for assessment of ground subsidence at Joshimath, the NDMA requested institutions, including ISRO, to “sensitise their organisation†about this matter and refrain from posting anything on social media platforms until the final report of the expert group is released by it.
The expert team, for its part, has found that the condition of houses where cracks have appeared is not good.
The assessment of the 4,000 buildings across nine wards in Joshimath is underway. Dr Ajay Chaurasia, Chief Engineer, CBRI, said it is also being checked if the houses were constructed in line with the set norms.
As for the ropeway, Dinesh Bhatt, the manager, was quoted by a news agency as saying that cracks surfaced on the ropeway platform from Friday.
