Joshimath: CBRI installs crack metres in houses, WIHGH sets up seismic stations

The number of houses that have developed cracks in Joshimath now stands at 849, with 165 of them declared unsafe

The Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) has installed crack metres in the houses in Joshimath to assess the damage and progression of cracks in the buildings and the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) has set up three seismic stations in the area, a senior official said on Monday.

A total of 800 people from Joshimath have been shifted to safer locations so far. (PTI)

“Crack metres have been installed on the buildings by CBRI to assess the damage and progression of cracks in the buildings in Joshimath. So far damage assessment of 400 houses has been done. Also, three seismic stations have been installed by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, from which data is also being obtained”, Ranjit Kumar Sinha, secretary disaster management said in a press briefing in Dehradun on Monday.

He said the number of houses that have developed cracks now stands at 849, with 165 of them declared unsafe. “So far, 237 families have been shifted to safer locations, including 4 families, on Monday. In total, 800 people have been shifted to safer locations,” he said

Sinha said the initial discharge of water in Joshimath, which was 540 litres per minute (LPM) on January 6, 2023, has come down to 163 LPM now.

He said ₹ 2.85 crore has been distributed to 190 affected families as advance for shifting by the state government.

In the temporarily identified relief camps, there are a total of 615 rooms in Joshimath with a capacity of 2,190 people, and 491 rooms in Pipalkoti with a capacity of 2,205 people, he added.

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