Joshimath: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday met locals who have been badly affected due to land subsidence in Joshimath city, an episode which has triggered panic in the region.

According to reports, over 500 houses in the region have developed cracks.

Locals claim that the city is sinking.

Experts have raised alarm over the developments linking the cracks in the houses to rapid construction in the ecologically sensitive area, reports Hindustan Times.

The Chief Minister said the first priority of the government is to keep people safe.

"On the damage that has already been done, experts are holding a review. The first thing we have been trying to do is move people to safety," he was quotes as saying by Hindustan Times.

All India Congress Committee general secretary Jairam Ramesh reacted to the incident and tweeted: "For 26 months when I was Environment Minister, I grappled with the development-environment issue in Uttarakhand. In a vast majority of cases, I decided in favour of ecological protection. This didn’t win me many friends, but these visuals from Joshimath vindicates my position."