Joshimath land subsidence: Uttarakhand announces Rs 1.5 lakh relief for affected families; cracks in 723 buildings so far

Secretary to Uttarakhand CM, R Meenakshi Sundaram, said, “Each family will be given immediate interim assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh. Apart from the two hotel buildings which are marked ‘unsafe’, no other building is being demolished. Till now, cracks have been noticed in 723 buildings.”

People affected by the gradual ‘sinking’ of the houses load their belongings in a truck as they move to a safer place, in Joshimath. (PTI)

Of the Rs 1.5 lakh, Rs 50,000 is being provided in advance for house shifting and Rs 1 lakh for disaster relief which will be adjusted later. Those who want to shift to a rented accommodation will be given Rs 4,000 per month for six months.

Sundaram further said that after January 7, no new cracks have developed and the old cracks have not increased. Water leakage near Jaypee Company decreased to 250 LPM Tuesday evening.

After cracks developed in various “unsafe” buildings in Joshimath, 131 families were identified to be shifted to safer locations. These building were marked with red ‘X’ marks. This includes Hotel Malari Inn and Hotel Mount View. The hotels will be dismantled as they are leaning towards each other dangerously, posing a threat to the human settlements around the structures.

A temple collapses after the gradual ‘sinking’ of Joshimath in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. (PTI)

Speaking to The Indian Express, CBRI Chief Scientist D P Kanungo said they planned to carry out a “mechanical” demolition, with no use of explosives. “The foundation of the first hotel (Malari Inn) has left the ground and thus the damage is irreparable. The hotel has shifted its weight on the other hotel, so the other hotel is damaged too. This is why a safe mechanical demolition of these two buildings is mandatory,” he said. The demolition will take three to four days and Malari Inn will be demolished first.

Among those demanding compensation as per the rates listed under the Badrinath Dham redevelopment masterplan, Thakur Singh Rana, the owner of Hotel Malari Inn told ANI, “My son stays in France. I can move there. But I am sitting in protest instead in solidarity with fellow (Joshimath) residents.” According to district officials, the Badrinath masterplan provides compensation which is twice the circle rate.

The protesters have also been demanding the withdrawal of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), which is building a power plant in the state. However, NTPC said its tunnelling and other work on the plant is not the cause of the cracks in structures in the town.

Located at a height of 6,000 feet in Chamoli, Joshimath falls in the high-risk seismic Zone-V and is a hub for tourists travelling to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib.

Cracks in a house in the Joshimath of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Cracks started appearing in the houses due to landslides causing panic spread in the whole city. (PTI)

Even as rains in the town added the worries of locals, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused an urgent hearing of a plea to declare the situation in Joshimath a national disaster. However, the apex court posted the matter for hearing on January 16, while adding that there are democratically elected institutions to take care of such happenings.

The district magistrate said a central team will survey the damage to properties and suggest the path ahead for relief efforts. “A team of scientists from IIT Roorkee have been asked to inspect the buildings of the affected Bahuguna Nagar of Karnprayag where cracks were reported,” Khurana had said.

Uttarakhand | Cracks seen on houses and buildings in Chamba of Tehri district. pic.twitter.com/YFDtvniu8S

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 11, 2023

Earlier this week, CM Dhami had requested the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad and the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehradun to conduct a study of Joshimath area through satellite images and submit a detailed report with photographs. Additionally, IIT-Roorkee, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Institute of Hydrology Roorkee and Director CSIR, Central Building Research Institute Roorkee have carried out a detailed survey and study of Joshimath area and will soon submit their report to the government.

Meanwhile, Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh said that the ministry will be setting up numerous micro-seismic observation centres at Joshimath to gather data on earthquakes and tremors of smaller magnitude. “What we will be trying to do through these observations is determine whether the subsidence at Joshimath has taken place because of earthquakes, or climatic changes such as increased excess precipitation or whether it isn’t the impact on natural causes at all but due to non-climatic factors such as the stress of increased development and infrastructure,’’ said an official.

With inputs from agencies