Joshimath, Jan 16 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central government have been monitoring the situation in Joshimath. After the Ministry of Home Affairs, a team from the PM's Office visited the holy city to inspect the land subsidence affected areas. The cracks have increased slightly.

The team, headed by Mangesh Ghildiyal, Deputy Secretary PMO, visited the city on Sunday and will submit its report soon, said sources.

According to sources, the purpose of the visit was to separately inspect the condition of the areas with visible cracks and deteriorating water quality.

Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha inspected the affected areas on the same day and said that there had been a slight increase in the number of cracks, but no new areas were damaged.

A team of the MHA, led by Border Management Secretary Dharmendra S. Gangwar, had visited Dehradun and Joshimath last week and had held discussions with the the state officials.

The local authorities informed the Central teams about the steps taken by the district administration.