Uttarakhand Chief Secretary SS Sandhu on Monday stressed that every minute is important and directed immediate evacuation of people from the affected zone even as many residents remained reluctant to leave their homes that have been declared unsafe due to land subsidence.

The district administration had put red cross marks on more than 200 houses in the sinking town that are unsafe for living. It asked their occupants to either shift to the temporary relief centres or rented accommodation for which each family will get the assistance of Rs 4000 per month for the next six months from the state government.

The number of subsidence-affected homes increased on Monday to 678 after cracks appeared in 68 more houses. A total of 82 families have been shifted so far to safe locations in the town.

The state government on Sunday declared some areas of Joshimath as 'unsafe for living' based on the recommendations of the experts who had been surveying the houses in the holy city to identify the causes of the landslides.

Residents protested against the land subsidence in Joshimath last month as well. A five-member team comprising geological experts, engineers and senior officials, had then conducted an on-the-spot inspection of buildings that had developed cracks.

Disaster Management Secretary, Dr Ranjit Sinha said that some parts of the premises of the Army, ITBP, NTPC and Jaypee Company were also in the landslide zones. ITBP has been vacating the colony, while Jaypee has vacated some of its residences and NTPC is preparing to do the same. Pipalkoti, Gauchar, Koti Colony, among other places have been selected for the rehabilitation of the affected.

The landslides have now been moving towards the Army and ITBP camps. Along with the collapse of the road to the camp, the border connecting Malari Highway has also caved in, which may create problems for the army in view of transportation and provision.

After the series of landslides and cracks in houses intensified in Joshimath, a team of experts and scientists, led by Sinha was constituted by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

The first reports of the cracks began in 2021 after landslides in Chamoli. The residents experienced seismic tremors repeatedly in the subsequent years.