In the wake of events in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, recently with many buildings developing cracks, the Army has relocated some of its troops to the higher reaches of the region for the time being, Army Chief General Manoj Pande said here on Thursday.
He, however, assured operational readiness of the army is not adversely impacted by the developments. This observation came in the backdrop of the strategically important Joshimath-Mana post road developing cracks, thereby hampering movement of the troops. The road leads right up to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) facing China. Pande said the road had some minor cracks and the Border Roads Organisation(BRO) has repaired them ensuring smooth logistical backup and overall it has not impacted accessibility to forward areas.
Regarding relocating the troops, the Army chief said at least 20-25 buildings of the army establishment developed minor cracks and the troops living in them were temporarily shifted to higher grounds. If need be, they may later be shifted to Auli further up, Pande said.
As far as assisting the local authorities, he said army has a hospital, helipad and other facilities and they have been offered to the administration including some shelters for relocating local people there.