Dehradun (TIP)- Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered immediate evacuation of around 600 families living in houses which have developed huge cracks and are at risk in sinking Joshimath town. He also reviewed the situation in the sinking town with officials via video conference. Speaking to media persons here, the chief minister said, “Saving lives is our first priority. Officials have been asked to shift around 600 families living in endangered houses in Joshimath to safe locations.”

“We are also working on short and long-term plans to address the situation in Joshimath,” he said, as quoted by news agency PTI.

CM Dhami will visit Joshimath today, Saturday, to meet the affected people and hold a meeting with officials.

He further informed that Garhwal Commissioner Sushil Kumar and secretary, disaster management, Ranjit Kumar Sinha along with a team of experts are camping on the ground to constantly monitor the situation.

The chief minister also directed that relocation of people from the affected areas should be done expeditiously and medical treatment facilities should be available on ground and arrangements for airlifting people should also be made, PTI reported.

An immediate action plan as well as a long-term action plan should be prepared and work on both should be started in right earnest, Dhami said, adding that procedures should be simplified to expedite work on treatment of danger zones, sewer and drainage.

Huge cracks have appeared in scores of houses while many have suffered subsidence.

Nearly 50 families have been moved to safer locations, officials said. Apart from them, 60 families living in a colony meant for Vishnu Prayag Jal Vidyut Pariyojana employees have been shifted elsewhere, its director Pankaj Chauhan said.

Marwari area, where an aquifer burst three days ago, is the worst hit as water is constantly coming down from it.

All construction activities related to mega projects like the Char Dham all-weather road and the National Thermal Power Corporation’s hydel project have been stopped till further orders on the demand of residents. The Auli ropeway, which is Asia’s biggest, has been stopped after a huge crack developed beneath it, former president of the local municipality Rishi Prasad Sati said. Land subsidence has been going on for more than a year but the problem has aggravated over the past fortnight, he said.