'Govt banned ISRO report on Joshimath land subsidence': Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge

Mallikarjun Kharge said the government had banned reports of agencies like ISRO and had asked them not to interact with the media.

Pic Credit: File Photo

New Delhi: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday slammed the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) “office memorandum” to various agencies asking them “to not post anything on the media” about the Joshimath ground subsidence and said instead of solving the problems of people, the government was “shooting the messenger”.

'Govt has banned reports of agencies like ISRO': Kharge

Kharge said that after Joshimath, there are reports of cracks in the houses from Karnprayag and Tehri Garhwal. He said the government had banned reports of agencies like ISRO and had asked them not to interact with the media.

“Instead of solving the disaster and solving the problems of the public, ban has been imposed on the reports of government agencies – ISRO and media interactions have been banned. Narendra Modiji, Do not Shoot the Messenger,” Kharge said in a tweet.

जोशीमठ के बाद,अब कर्णप्रयाग व टेहरी गढ़वाल से भी मकानों में दरारों की ख़बर आ रही है।

विपदा का समाधान व जनता की समस्याओं के निदान के बजाय, सरकारी एजेंसियो - ISRO की रिपोर्ट पर पाबंदी और मीडिया से बातचीत पर रोक!@narendramodi जी,

“Do Not Shoot the Messenger” pic.twitter.com/v9wigOAV0T — Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) January 14, 2023

The Congress leader alleged that “ISRO report on ‘Joshimath land sinking’ had gone “missing from government website”

Kharge attached an “office memorandum” from NDMA to various government agencies.

What did NDMA say about the Joshimath land subsidence crisis?

NDMA said various government Institutions are releasing data related to the Joshimath ground subsidence in social media platform and “are interacting with 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 issue was highlighted during a meeting chaired by Union Home Minister on January 12, 2023.”

(A scientist from G.B Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Climate Change during a survey of the affected area in Joshimath/ANI)

The office memorandum said the matter was also discussed during a meeting chaired by Member Secretary, NDMA, and an expert group has been formed for assessment of ground subsidence at Joshimath.

“You are requested to sensitize your organization about this matter and refrain from posting anything on the media platform until the final report of the expert group is released by NDMA,” it said.

A team from Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee on Saturday started a door-to-door survey of houses in the Joshimath town of Uttarakhand’s Chamoli and pasted “unusable” posters on houses extremely impacted by land subsidence.

The team of CBRI, Roorkee has started to check the land subsidence in Joshimath by conducting a door-to-door survey of the condition and has also installed a gauge meter at houses where severe cracks have been reported.