Don’t shoot messenger: Cong to govt on Uttarakhand ‘gag order’

new delhi/ Selang (Joshimath): The Congress on Saturday slammed the government advisory that asked ISRO and several other state-run organisations and institutes not to interact with the media or share information on social media on the situation in Joshimath without prior approval.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also shared a letter written by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to Indian Space Research Organisation in this regard. “After Joshimath, now reports of cracks in the walls of houses in Karnprayag and Tehri Garhwal are also coming.

“Instead of solving the crisis and finding solutions to the problems of people, government agencies are putting a ban on ISRO report and stopping its officials from interacting with the media. Narendra Modi ji, ‘Do Not Shoot the Messenger’,” Kharge tweeted.

Concerns over land subsidence in Joshimath mounted on Friday as satellite images released by ISRO showed the Himalayan town sank 5.4 cm in 12 days.

AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh also said, “They make one Constitutional institution attack another. Now, National Disaster Management Authority tells ISRO to shut up.”

“But how can satellite images lie? This is New India where only one man knows everything, and will decide who will speak on anything,” he said in a veiled attack at the prime minister. The NDMA and the Uttarakhand government have asked over a dozen state-run organisations and institutes and their experts not to make any unauthorised comment or statement on the situation in Joshimath.

Selang, a village around five km from subsidence-hit Joshimath, is likely to meet a similar fate as cracks and fissures have been appearing in fields and several houses for the past few months.

Located on Badrinath National Highway (NH-58), residents of Selang said they are scared and the Joshimath crisis has only deepened their fears. The villagers hold the construction of NTPC’s Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project responsible for their plight.

Tunnels of the project are built underneath the village. A hotel situated along the NH near the mouth of one of these tunnels collapsed in July 2021 and petrol pump nearby was also partially damaged, Selang resident Vijendra Lal said.

The houses located near the collapsed hotel are also at risk, he said. “Nine NTPC tunnels are built underneath the village. A lot of explosives were used to construct the tunnels which has damaged the foundation of the village,” Lal claimed.