723 Houses Damaged in Joshimath; Demolition of 2 Hotels Halted Due To Protests

Joshimath: MoS for Defence Ajay Bhatt inspects massive cracks in a house developed due to land subsidence in Joshimath on Tuesday, 10 January 2023.

(Photo: Rameshwar Gaur/IANS)

As many as 723 houses in Uttarakhand's Joshimath have been damaged due to land subsidence, and 86 homes have been categorised as unsafe so far, according to the data available with the Chamoli district administration.

The big: A total of 131 families, with 462 people, have been moved to temporary shelters as of Tuesday, according to The Indian Express.

Demolition of hotels: The first phase of the proposed demolition in Joshimath targeted two hotels, which have been severely hit by land subsidence. Deep cracks have emerged on both hotels, separating one from its foundation (Hotel Malari Inn) and causing the other (Hotel Mount View) to tilt sideways.

But... owing to protests, the demolition work could not be carried out on Tuesday. The owner of Malari Inn and a few residents staged a protest against the demolition, demanding that they be compensated.

The protesters stopped officials from the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) from entering the hotel.

Why you should read on: CBRI chief scientist PD Kanungo, who was part of the team that carried out the Noida Supertech twin tower demolitions last year, told The Indian Express that the demolition in Joshimath would be done without 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 onto the other hotel, so the other hotel is damaged too. This is why a safe mechanical demolition of these two buildings is mandatory."

PD Kanungo, tells The Indian Express

What's happening in Joshimath? On Monday, Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said that Joshimath town has been declared a disaster-prone area, with increasing land subsidence and a growing number of cracked buildings.

(With inputs from The Indian Express.)