Joshimath (Uttarakhand): The Uttarakhand government on January 11 announced an interim relief of Rs 1.5 lakh to affected families affected by land subsidence in Joshimath.
Cracks have appeared in 723 buildings in the town, and so far, 131 families have been shifted to safer locations, according to officials. “Each family will be given immediate interim assistance of Rs 1.50 lakh. Apart from the two hotel buildings which are marked ‘unsafe’, no other building is being demolished. Till now, cracks have been noticed in 723 buildings,” the Secretary to Uttarakhand Chief Minister R Meenakshi Sundaram said.
‘The central team will survey the damage to properties due to the land subsidence and suggest a way forward while coordinating with the local administration in relief and rescue effort’, said District Magistrate, Chamoli, Himanshu Khurana. He also added, “We are in touch with local representatives and asked them to bring it to our notice if new cracks appear. 131 families have been shifted to relief centres,”.
The district magistrate also said that a central team would survey the property damage due to the land subsidence and suggest a way forward while coordinating with the local administration in relief and rescue efforts.”A team of scientists from IIT Roorkee have been asked to inspect the buildings of the affected Bahuguna Nagar of Karnprayag where cracks were reported,” Khurana had said.
On January 11, RM Sundaram, the Secretary to Uttarakhand Chief Minister, and the district administration met with the people whose houses had suffered damages.
Water leakage near Jaypee Company is decreasing, reaching 250 LPM on January 10. After January 7, no new cracks have developed, and the old cracks have not increased. Two unsafe buildings need to be demolished, and we appeal to the people to support us, the secretary to Uttarakhand Chief Minister said.
On January 10, Locals in Joshimath protested against National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), demanding its withdrawal from the state.
District officials have asked people to vacate homes and other establishments that have been identified for demolition which have developed cracks and have been identified as “unsafe”. These buildings have all been marked with red ‘X’ marks.
Two hotels- Hotel Malari Inn and Hotel Mount View- have been marked for demolition, and the process of dismantling was supposed to begin on January 10 evening, was stopped after protests by the owner of Malari Inn and some locals. The protestors demanded compensation as per the rates listed under the Badrinath Dham redevelopment master plan.
Thakur Singh Rana, the owner of Hotel Malari Inn, said, “My son stays in France. I can move there. But I am sitting in protest instead in solidarity with fellow (Joshimath) residents.”His wife said, “We need to be compensated as those affected by the ongoing Badrinath redevelopment work. We are even prepared to sit out in the freezing cold till our demand is met.”
According to sources, the hotel owners will meet the district magistrate to push for compensation.”They will be dismantling these hotels for the safety of the 15-20 families still living here. Our houses have been destroyed,” said Manmohan Singh Rawat, a local.
Teams of the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) had been roped in to supervise the demolition process with personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on stand-by.
