Families in U'khand's Joshimath being evacuated after houses develop cracks
Gopeshwar (Uttarakhand) (PTI): Nearly 30 families in the Himalayan town of Joshimath have been evacuated to safer locations with several houses in the area prone to high seismic activity developing cracks, according to officials.
Located at a height of 6,000 feet in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, the town, on the route to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, falls in high-risk seismic 'Zone-V'.
So far, 561 houses in different areas of the town have developed cracks, including 153 in Ravigram, 127 in Gandhinagar, 71 in Manoharbagh, 52 in Singhdhar, 50 in Parsari, 29 in Upper Bazar, 27 in Suneel, 28 in Marwadi and 24 in Lower Bazar, District Disaster Management Officer NK Joshi said.
The degree of damage to the houses differ and till now, 29 families from the most affected houses have been shifted temporarily to safer places from the town, he said, adding that more families could be evacuated if required.
The locations where they have been shifted to include the Nagar Palika Bhawan, a primary school building, the Milan Kendra and the Joshimath Gurudwara, the official said.
Some of the families have also been shifted for the time being to the places of their relatives, Joshi said.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the situation in Joshimath is being closely monitored and he will himself visit the place to assess the situation.
Officials said a team of experts has also been set up to conduct a survey of the place that falls in the high risk seismic 'Zone-V'.
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Rupee falls 32 paise to all-time low of 95.20 against US dollar
Mumbai, Apr 30 (PTI): The rupee depreciated 32 paise to an all-time low of 95.20 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, weighed down by elevated Brent crude oil prices, hovering around USD 122 per barrel, and strong American currency.
Forex traders said the USD/INR pair may see further downside, as rising crude oil prices are likely to sharply impact India's import costs, while concerns over potential wider conflict in West Asia are fuelling investor anxiety.
Meanwhile, the US dollar added to gains after the US FED Reserve kept rates unchanged. Safe-haven demand was also boosted by another diplomatic setback between Washington and Tehran.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.01 against the US dollar, then lost some ground and touched an all-time low of 95.20 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a fall of 32 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee depreciated 20 paise to close at an all-time low of 94.88 against the US dollar.
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"The main effect on the rupee has been from the rising oil prices, which touched USD 120 per barrel and looked headed for further upside as the US continues with its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran does not allow any ship/tanker to pass through the Strait of Hormuz," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.01 per cent higher at 98.96.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 3.16 per cent at USD 121.76 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex tumbled 821.79 points to 76,674.57 in early trade, while the Nifty dived 287.3 points to 23,890.35.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,468.42 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue with their sale of Indian Equities and debt (the yield touched 7 per cent on Wednesday) and are also dollar buyers consistently," Bhansali added.
