Gopeshwar (U’khand), Jan 17 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Pradeep Tamta on Tuesday blamed the state government’s working style for the Joshimath crisis and accused the BJP-led dispensation of sitting idle despite being aware of the imminent danger.
He said the government was still not as active as it should be in taking steps to save Joshimath and providing relief to the people.
Joshimath, the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib and international skiing destination Auli, appears on the edge of a precipice with gaping cracks appearing on buildings, roads and public facilities. The state government is facing an uphill task providing relief and rehabilitating the affected families in the brutal winter.
“More than natural, it is a circumstantial disaster. The state government is not responding to the crisis with the kind of urgency that is required,” Tamta, who has been camping in Joshimath for the past two days, said.
Tamta, a former MP, added, “Despite knowing that Joshimath was in danger, the government machinery sat idle ignoring the warnings by experts.” The Congress leader also cited the example of the Mishra Committee, which first warned of the crisis in 1976.
The committed was constituted by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and corrective steps in light of its recommendations had begun to be taken to ward off the crisis, he said.
“However, ignoring warnings by experts, the present government imposed such mega infrastructural projects on the area that a historic town like Joshimath is groaning under their weight,” the former MP said.
If immediate steps are not taken honestly to save Joshimath and its residents, other towns and villages too will meet a similar fate, he warned. PTI COR ALM SZM
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