Demolition of Joshimath's 2 'unsafe' hotels underway, evacuation continues

The process of demolishing two "unsafe" hotels in subsidence-hit Joshimath began on Thursday, two days after the exercise was stalled due to protests by their owners demanding compensation, while the evacuation of affected people to safer locations continued.

In Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah assessed the situation in Joshimath and steps taken to ameliorate people's hardship at a meeting attended by Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, R K Singh, Bhupendra Yadav and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and top officials.

Joshimath, the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib and international skiing destination Auli, is facing a major challenge due to land subsidence.

Hotels Malari Inn and Mount View had developed cracks and were precariously leaning towards each other posing a threat to the settlements around them, officials said.

The demolition began following an agreement between the administration and the property owners.

The buildings are being razed under the technical supervision of Roorkee-based Central Building Research Institute with Hotel Malari Inn, Disaster Secretary Ranjit Sinha told reporters here.

The demolition was scheduled to be undertaken on Tuesday, however, it could not be done as their owners staged a dharna demanding compensation along the lines of what was offered to those displaced by the Badrinath renovation masterplan.

"Everything will be done under the technical supervision of CBRI. The hotels will be dismantled in such a manner that no harm is caused to the structures nearby," an official engaged in the operation said.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government told the Delhi High Court that authorities are rehabilitating the affected families in Joshimath, and that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in the area.

On Thursday, 27 more families moved to temporary relief centres even as the number of houses developing cracks in the town rose to 760, Secretary Disaster Management Sinha told reporters in Dehradun.

A total of 169 families consisting of 589 members have so far been shifted to relief centres.

There are 835 rooms serving as relief centres in Joshimath and Pipalkoti which can together accomodate 3,630 people, he said.

An interim assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh has been paid so far to 42 affected families.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said a committee would decide the market rate for compensation to be paid to the families affected in Joshimath keeping in mind the interests of stakeholders.

A 19-member committee headed by Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana was set up on Wednesday to distribute an interim assistance of Rs 1.50 lakh among each affected family and decide the rate at which compensation is to be paid.

"People will get the best compensation possible. The state government will do all it can to properly rehabilitate them. Protecting their life and property is our top priority," Dhami said at a meeting with the committee.

On the Rs 1.50 lakh being paid immediately to each affected family for which Rs 45 crore has already been released, the chief minister said, "It is only an interim relief. Details of the final compensation and rehabilitation are being worked out."