Joshimath: Heaters provided to relief camps, 38 more families evacuated

With icy winds sweeping Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, the administration on Saturday provided electric heaters to temporary relief centres in subsidence-hit Joshimath even as 38 more families were evacuated from the affected areas, officials said.

The government also made arrangements for bonfires at 10 places, they said.

A total of 223 families have been evacuated so far to safety, Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Sinha said.

The demolition of hotel Malari Inn went on amid stepped up efforts to distribute the amount of Rs 1.50 lakh to each affected family as interim relief.

An amount of Rs 1.87 crore has been distributed as interim assistance among the 125 affected families so far, Sinha said, adding that the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) has also been allowed to assist in building prefabricated houses for the affected people who own land in safe zones.

The number of rooms at relief camps has been increased to 615 which can accommodate about 2,190 people, the officials said.

The number of houses developing cracks has risen to 782 in Joshimath where areas situated in Gandhinagar, Singdhar, Manohar Bagh and Sunil wards have been declared unsafe.

Meanwhile, Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said the resettlement and rehabilitation package for the affected people is being prepared in accordance with what the stakeholders want.

Khurana who met affected people staying in relief camps in Joshimath said the stakeholders want to be compensated in different ways.

"Some want cash compensation, some have their own land where they want to build houses... There are others who want to be relocated elsewhere within Joshimath. We have to keep all this in mind while preparing a resettlement or rehabilitation package so that it is in everybody's interest and sustainable," Khurana said.

State Cabinet minister Dhan Singh Rawat who has been camping in Joshimath since Friday said things are gradually returning to normal in the town and there is no need for anyone to panic.

An apparent sinking of land is being blamed for cracks developing in hundreds of houses and buildings in Joshimath -- a town of 17,000 people which is a gateway to Hindu and Sikh shrines and also draws trekkers in parts of the Himalayas.