Two hotels in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath – Hotel Malari Inn and Hotel Mount View – and several houses that have developed cracks due to land subsidence – will take place today, officials have confirmed.
All residents have been safely evacuated from ‘unsafe’ zones and the demolition will be carried out by experts from Roorkee’s Central Building Research Institute in Roorkee, with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) ready to assist if needed.
“They will be demolishing these hotels for the safety of the 15-20 families still living here. Our houses have been destroyed,” Manmohan Singh Rawat, a local, told news agency ANI.
Visuals shared by ANI show enormous cracks in buildings and on roads of the temple town, where nearly 700 structures have been damaged and over 80 families displaced
District officials have put red ‘X’ marks on over 200 houses to indicate their condemned status and have asked to either shift to relief camps or rented accommodation; in the latter case, the state will give each family aid of ₹4,000 per month for the next six months.
Apart from evacuating residents and demolishing damaged buildings, the Uttarakhand government is also working on a plan to relocate and rehabilitate people, if needed.
Possible relocation sites include Gauchar (90km away) and Pipalkoti (35 km away), according to Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who has visited Joshimath town and promised support. Prime minister Narendra Modi has promised support from the Centre.
The chief minister stressed the importance of Joshimath to the state’s cultural and religious histories and said that integrated efforts would be needed for its restoration. Efforts are being made to save the town and evacuate people to safer locations, he said.
While some appear amenable to relocation to an area close to Joshimath, others have raised objections and even sought financial compensation – a ‘one-time settlement’ – to cover losses.
One affected resident – a Deepak Rawat who was shifted with his family after their house, behind Hotel Mount View, developed cracks – said: “The government should rehabilitate us to a location close to Joshimath…”
Thakur Singh Rana, a hotelier also in a relief camp, had the opposite view, and said, “We want a one-time settlement plan. We don’t want the government to impose anything on us… If we are paid according to the losses, we can shift wherever we want…”
Meanwhile, amid the difficulties in Joshimath, cracks have also been seen on some houses in the Bahuguna Nagar of Karnaprayag Municipality area in the state’s Chamoli district.