The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has asked all government institutions involved in rescue and relief work as well as cause and effect study of the Joshimath landfall to refrain from sharing any details regarding their findings until a final “integrated” report. It was introduced by the group of experts on the subject, people familiar with the development said Saturday.
The development came one day after Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) A report was released saying that Joshimath of Uttarakhand sank 5.4 cm in just 12 days.
The center has already put together a team of experts from NDMA, Geological Survey of India, IIT Roorkee, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Institute of Hydrology and Central Building Research Institute to study and make recommendations on the situation at Joshimath.
In a desk note issued on Friday evening, the National Administration for Refugees said: “It is noticeable that various government institutions are publishing data related to the issue in the social media platform, and they are also interacting with the media with their own interpretation of the situation. It is creating confusion not only among the affected population.” but also among the citizens of the country.The issue was highlighted during a meeting chaired by His Excellency the Federal Home Minister (Amit Shah) on January 12, 2023.
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Confirming that a group of experts is indeed looking into the incident, the NDMA asked the concerned departments to avoid sharing details on social media or interacting with the media.
The NDMA letter added, “You are requested to make your organization aware of this matter and to refrain from publishing anything on the media platform until the expert group’s final report has been released by the NDMA.”
A senior NDMA official, who requested anonymity, said, “It is just a precautionary message to say that sharing details separately could create confusion and panic among residents in the Joshimath area. We will have to wait for the expert group’s final report to find out what happened.”
After the NDMA letter, the ISRO report was removed from its website.
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