Joshimath: 2 hotels, houses to demolished in 'sinking town'

New Delhi,Jan 10: The demolition of hotels and houses in Joshimath will begin shortly as SDRF deployed at the spot and announcements being made through loudspeakers for people to go to safer places.

"Of the two hotels, Malari Inn will be demolished in a step-wise manner today. First of all, the top portion will be demolished. It is being done because both the hotels have tilted and have come very close to each other due to the sinking," ANI quoted Manikant Mishra, Commandant, SDRF, in a tweet.

He said that their demolition is essential because there are several houses and hotels around, if these two sink any further they can collapse. "So, experts decided to demolish them. CBRI experts are coming, they conducted a survey yesterday and now they'll give more technical information on the same," M Mishra added.

Hotels Malari Inn and Mount View, which have developed more cracks, will be demolished on Tuesday, officials have told the news agency and claimed that all residents have been safely evacuated from the 'unsafe zones'.

"If being demolished in public interest I'm with government and administration, even if there are only partial cracks in my hotel. But I should've been given a notice and evaluation should've been made. I urge for valuation, I'll leave," Thakur Singh Rana, owner of Malari Inn, told ANI.

It will be carried out under the supervision of a team of experts from the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee. "They will be demolishing these hotels for the safety of the 15-20 families still living here. Our houses have been destroyed," said Manmohan Singh Rawat, a local. On Monday, District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana informed that a central team was to arrive in Chamoli district to survey the damage wrought to properties by the land subsidence and suggest a way forward while coordinating with the local administration in relief and rescue efforts. "A team from the Ministry of Home Affairs will come to Joshimath on Tuesday. Demolition of buildings will start tomorrow under the supervision of the team of Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) Roorkee," Khurana had said earlier. On Monday, a team from the Ministry of Jal Shakti also arrived.

The number of subsidence-affected homes rose to 678 while 27 more families were evacuated to safety, a bulletin from the Disaster Management Authority in Chamoli said, adding so far 82 families have been shifted to safe locations in the town.

The district administration had put red cross marks on more than 200 houses in the sinking town that are unsafe for living. It asked their occupants to either shift to the temporary relief centres or rented accommodation for which each family will get assistance of Rs 4000 per month for the next six months from the state government.

There are 16 places in Joshimath where temporary relief centres have been built for the affected people. Apart from them, 19 more hotels, guest houses and school buildings have been identified for the affected people in Joshimath and 20 outside the town in Pipalkoti.

With inputs from agencies