Demolition of 2 hotels in Joshimath begins

PTI

New Delhi/Dehradun, Jan 12

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 Joshimath situation and steps taken to ameliorate people’s hardship at a meeting attended by Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, RK Singh, Bhupendra Yadav and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, besides top officials. Joshimath, the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites such as Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib and international skiing destination Auli, is facing a major challenge due to subsidence.

The Malari Inn and Mount View hotels 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, Secretary (Disaster Management) Ranjit Sinha told reporters here.

On Thursday, 27 more families moved to temporary relief centres even as the number of houses developing cracks in the town rose to 760, Sinha said. A total of 169 families comprising 589 members have so far been shifted to relief centres. 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.

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