Amid uncertainty, Joshimath families await rehabilitation

PTI

Joshimath, February 5

It has been more than a month since Bharti Devi left her home which was damaged due to cracks after the land began sinking in Joshimath in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.

Now the septuagenarian spends half her day near her now-abandoned home which she misses regularly and other half at the sub-divisional office, hoping to receive some positive news about their permanent rehabilitation.

Bharti Devi is currently living in a temporary relief camp at an abandoned Army barrack. She was among the first families of Joshimath whose houses became uninhabitable after the land-subsidence situation began aggravating.

Still awaiting permanent rehabilitation, many residents who were using a primary school in Singhdhar ward as a temporary shelter had to move to an abandoned Army barracks after the school was reopened.

They fear that with the arrival of pilgrims for the Char Dham yatra in April and May, they will be deprived of even this accommodation.

Joshimath District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana has recommended three options to a high-powered state-level committee for the permanent settlement of residents, but the formulae can be implemented only after the state Cabinet approves it and the affected residents of the town are okay with it.

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