News Analysis India

Tag: Joshimath sinking

  • Joshimath disaster-hit people get ultimatum from hotel owners to vacate rooms by March 31

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN: Hundreds of families, who were rendered homeless in the land-submerged disaster in Joshimath earlier this year, are once again facing the crisis of homelessness.

    The affected people, who were shifted to hotels by the administration due to cracks in houses, have now been asked by hotel owners to vacate their hotel rooms by March 31. The number of such affected families in various hotels and dharamshalas in Joshimath municipality area is 181, with a total of 694 members.

    According to the information received, the affected people have been told by the hotel owners, in view of the forthcoming Yatra season for Chardham Yatra, to vacate the hotel rooms within the next two days. 

    District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana told The New Indian Express, “By March 31, orders were received to shift the disaster-affected people to hotels. The government has been written to keep the affected in hotels till April 30. Even after March 31, no disaster-affected person will be excluded from hotels. If a hotel owner is asking the affected people to leave the hotel, it will be investigated”.

    Speaking to The New Indian Express, Joshimath SDM Kumkum Joshi said, “The government has been informed about this and a solution will be found soon to ensure that the affected people do not face any problem nor the hotel business is affected by it”.

    “In the first week of January, people were displaced in hotels, dharamshalas and rented houses after the land submergence increased in Joshimath. In hotels, the government is paying a rent of Rs 950 for a room. Those who are living in rented houses are being given five thousand rupees. There are 694 members of 181 families staying in various hotels, dharamshalas in Joshimath Municipality area. Arrangements have also been made for their food and drink,” said SDM Joshi.

    Hotel owner Govind Singh says, “There are 10 rooms in his hotel. Two of these rooms have been given to the disaster-affected. The administration had asked to keep affected till March. Now they need rooms for the Chardham Yatra. Many times large groups of pilgrims come. In such a situation, if the disaster-affected people are kept here, they will not be able to provide rooms to the pilgrims.

    DEHRADUN: Hundreds of families, who were rendered homeless in the land-submerged disaster in Joshimath earlier this year, are once again facing the crisis of homelessness.

    The affected people, who were shifted to hotels by the administration due to cracks in houses, have now been asked by hotel owners to vacate their hotel rooms by March 31. The number of such affected families in various hotels and dharamshalas in Joshimath municipality area is 181, with a total of 694 members.

    According to the information received, the affected people have been told by the hotel owners, in view of the forthcoming Yatra season for Chardham Yatra, to vacate the hotel rooms within the next two days. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana told The New Indian Express, “By March 31, orders were received to shift the disaster-affected people to hotels. The government has been written to keep the affected in hotels till April 30. Even after March 31, no disaster-affected person will be excluded from hotels. If a hotel owner is asking the affected people to leave the hotel, it will be investigated”.

    Speaking to The New Indian Express, Joshimath SDM Kumkum Joshi said, “The government has been informed about this and a solution will be found soon to ensure that the affected people do not face any problem nor the hotel business is affected by it”.

    “In the first week of January, people were displaced in hotels, dharamshalas and rented houses after the land submergence increased in Joshimath. In hotels, the government is paying a rent of Rs 950 for a room. Those who are living in rented houses are being given five thousand rupees. There are 694 members of 181 families staying in various hotels, dharamshalas in Joshimath Municipality area. Arrangements have also been made for their food and drink,” said SDM Joshi.

    Hotel owner Govind Singh says, “There are 10 rooms in his hotel. Two of these rooms have been given to the disaster-affected. The administration had asked to keep affected till March. Now they need rooms for the Chardham Yatra. Many times large groups of pilgrims come. In such a situation, if the disaster-affected people are kept here, they will not be able to provide rooms to the pilgrims.

  • ‘A time bomb’: India’s sinking holy town faces grim future

    By Associated Press

    JOSHIMATH: Inside a shrine overlooking snow-capped mountains, Hindu priests heaped spoonfuls of puffed rice and ghee into a crackling fire. They closed their eyes and chanted in Sanskrit, hoping their prayers would somehow turn back time and save their holy — and sinking — town.

    For months, the roughly 20,000 residents in Joshimath, burrowed in the Himalayas and revered by Hindu and Sikh pilgrims, have watched the earth slowly swallow their community. They pleaded for help that never arrived, and in January their desperate plight made it into the international spotlight.

    But by then, Joshimath was already a disaster zone. Multistoried hotels slumped to one side; cracked roads gaped open. More than 860 homes were uninhabitable, splayed by deep fissures that snaked through ceilings, floors and walls. And instead of saviours, they got bulldozers that razed whole lopsided swaths of the town.

    The holy town was built on piles of debris left behind by years of landslides and earthquakes. Scientists have warned for decades, including in a 1976 report, that Joshimath could not withstand the level of heavy construction that has recently been taking place. “Cracks are widening every day and people are in fear. We have been saying for years this is not just a disaster, but a disaster in the making… it’s a time bomb,” said Atul Sati, an activist with the Save Joshimath Committee.

    Joshimath’s future is at risk, experts and activists say, due in part to a push backed by the prime minister’s political party to grow religious tourism in Uttarakhand, the holy town’s home state. On top of climate change, extensive new construction to accommodate more tourists and accelerate hydropower projects in the region is exacerbating subsidence — the sinking of land.

    ALSO WATCH:

    ‘Brain of North India’

    Located 1,890 meters (6,200 feet) above sea level, Joshimath is said to have special spiritual powers and is believed to be where Hindu guru Adi Shankaracharya found enlightenment in the 8th century before going on to establish four monasteries across India, including one in Joshimath. Visitors pass through the town on their way to the famous Sikh shrine, Hemkund Sahib, and the Hindu temple, Badrinath.

    “It must be protected,” said Brahmachari Mukundanand, a local priest who called Joshimath the “brain of North India” and explained that “Our body can still function if some limbs are cut off. But if anything happens to our brain, we can’t function. … Its survival is extremely important.”

    The town’s loose topsoil and soft rocks can only support so much and that limit, according to environmentalist Vimlendu Jha, may have already been breached. “You can’t just construct anything anywhere just because it is allowed,” he said. “In the short term, you might think it’s development. But in the long term, it is actually devastation.”

    Hindu priests pray to save their town in the famed Adi Shankaracharya monastery, in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, Jan. 20, 2023. (Photo | AP)

    At least 240 families have been forced to relocate without knowing if they would be able to return.

    Prabha Sati, who fled Joshimath in a panic last month when her home began to crack and tilt, came back to grab the television, idols of Hindu gods and some shoes before state officials demolished her home. “We built this house with so much difficulty. Now I will have to leave everything behind. Every small piece of it will be destroyed,” she said, blinking back tears.

    Authorities, ignoring expert warnings, have continued to move forward with costly projects in the region, including a slew of hydropower stations and a lengthy highway. The latter is aimed at further boosting religious tourism, a key plank of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

    In 2021, Modi promised a prosperous decade ahead for Uttarakhand. It is dotted with several holy shrines and improving the state’s infrastructure has already led to a steady rise in pilgrims over the decades. Nearly 500,000 passed through Joshimath in 2019, state data shows. “In the next 10 years, the state will receive more tourists than it did in the last 100 years,” Modi said.

    ALSO READ | The Himalayan loot that triggered the Joshimath disaster

    Paying the price for religious tourism

    A big Uttarakhand tourism draw is the Char Dham pilgrimage, one of the toughest in India. The route takes people to four, high-altitude Hindu temples. Pilgrims traverse challenging terrain, dropping oxygen levels and harsh weather between Badrinath, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Yamunotri temples. In 2022, over 200 out of the 250,000 pilgrims died while making the journey. Authorities said the rise in visitors was straining existing infrastructure.

    Already underway, the Char Dham infrastructure project aims to make the journey more accessible via a 10-meter (32-foot) wide and 889-kilometre (552 miles) long all-weather highway as well as a 327-kilometre (203-mile) railway line that would crisscross through the mountains. It is a controversial project with some experts saying it will exacerbate the fragile situation in the upper Himalayas where several towns are built atop landslide debris.

    An ariel view of a construction site of one of the longest railway tunnels, spanning 15 kilometres along the Rishikesh-Karanprayag line to connect the Char Dam pilgrimage, in Lachmoli village, Uttarakhand, Jan.18, 2023. (Photo | AP)

    Veteran environmentalist Ravi Chopra called the project a desecration when he resigned from a court-ordered committee studying its impact. To create such wide roads, engineers would need to smash boulders, cut trees and strip shrubbery, which he said will weaken slopes and make them “more susceptible to natural disasters.”

    Urban planning expert Kiran Shinde suggested a pedestrian corridor instead, noting these places were never meant for cars or crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands. “The highway is the most disastrous thing to happen to the Char Dham,” said Shinde, a professor at Australia’s La Trobe University who has written on religious tourism. “Let people walk.”

    Cracks continue to form. Located near a rail line construction site, Sangeeta Krishali’s home in Lachmoli, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Joshimath, has them. She fears for her safety: “It happened there, it can happen here, too.”

    In Joshimath’s foothills, construction was paused on a road for the Char Dham project that would ferry tourists faster to the Badrinath temple after cracks emerged in people’s homes.

    Locals feared it was too late. A long, jagged crack running across one of the front walls in the famed Adi Shankaracharya monastery had deepened worryingly in recent weeks, said Vishnu Priyanand, one of the priests. “Let places of worship remain as places of worship. Don’t make them tourist spots,” he pleaded.

    ALSO READ | Joshimath sinking: Mental health issues add to trauma of displaced

    ‘Go back NTPC’

    It’s not just the highways. For the past 17 years, Atul Sati, the Save Joshimath Committee member, has been convinced that a hydropower station located near his town could one day ruin it. He isn’t alone. In late January, hundreds of residents protested against the National Thermal Power Corporation’s Tapovan project. Posters reading ‘Go back NTPC’ are plastered across the town’s main market.

    “Our town is on the verge of destruction because of this project,” Sati said.

    Locals say construction blasts for a 12-kilometre (7-mile) tunnel for the station are causing their homes to crumble. Work has been suspended but NTPC officials deny any link to Joshimath’s subsidence. An expert committee is still investigating the cause, but state officials earlier blamed faulty drainage systems.

    A resident shows multiple cracks on the walls of his house, in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, Jan. 19, 2023.  (Photo | AP)

    The state government announced interim relief packages, including compensation worth 150,000 rupees ($1,813) to each affected family, said Himanshu Khurana, the officer in charge of Chamoli district where Joshimath is located. Various government agencies were conducting surveys to determine what caused the damage, he added.

    The crisis in Joshimath has reignited questions over whether India’s quest for more hydropower in the mountains to cut its reliance on coal can be achieved sustainably. Uttarakhand, home to more than 30 rivers and surrounded by melting glaciers, has around 100 hydropower projects in varying stages.

    In 2021, 200 people died after the Tapovan plant near Joshimath was submerged by severe floods caused in part by fast-shrinking glaciers, and over 6,000 were killed in the state after a devastating cloudburst in 2013.

    The heavy construction required for hydropower, like blasting boulders, diverting river flows and cutting through forests, in a region already vulnerable to climate change, could do irreparable damage, experts warn. It could also displace entire villages, as residents of a hamlet near Joshimath found out.

    ALSO READ | Joshimath sinking: Displaced people say, “wounds will no longer heal”

    From sacred hamlet to dumping site

    Haat, a village along the Alaknanda River, was once a sacred hamlet that traced its origins to the guru Adi Shankaracharya, who is said to have established another temple here in the 8th Century. Today, it is a dumping site for waste and a storage pit for construction materials after the village was acquired in 2009 by an energy enterprise to build a hydropower project.

    The Laxmi Narayan temple, encircled by grey stacks of cement, is the only part of the village still standing. All of its residents left over the years as authorities began razing down their homes, said Rajendra Hatwal, once the village chief who now lives in another town nearby.

    The project, he fumed, had killed Haat.

    “What sort of development requires destroying these priceless places? We don’t want any part of it.”

    A court last year directed authorities to stop dumping waste near the historic temple, which was once the last rest stop for devotees on their pilgrimage to Badrinath.

    Hatwal and a few others still check in on the temple often. A caretaker, who refused to leave, lives in a makeshift room next to it. He sweeps the grounds, cleans the idols and prepares tea for the odd guest who comes through. They feared its days, like their homes, were also numbered.

    “We are fighting to protect the temple. We want to preserve our ancient culture to pass on to a new generation,” said Hatwal. “They have not only destroyed a village – they have finished a 1,200-year-old culture.”

    JOSHIMATH: Inside a shrine overlooking snow-capped mountains, Hindu priests heaped spoonfuls of puffed rice and ghee into a crackling fire. They closed their eyes and chanted in Sanskrit, hoping their prayers would somehow turn back time and save their holy — and sinking — town.

    For months, the roughly 20,000 residents in Joshimath, burrowed in the Himalayas and revered by Hindu and Sikh pilgrims, have watched the earth slowly swallow their community. They pleaded for help that never arrived, and in January their desperate plight made it into the international spotlight.

    But by then, Joshimath was already a disaster zone. Multistoried hotels slumped to one side; cracked roads gaped open. More than 860 homes were uninhabitable, splayed by deep fissures that snaked through ceilings, floors and walls. And instead of saviours, they got bulldozers that razed whole lopsided swaths of the town.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The holy town was built on piles of debris left behind by years of landslides and earthquakes. Scientists have warned for decades, including in a 1976 report, that Joshimath could not withstand the level of heavy construction that has recently been taking place. “Cracks are widening every day and people are in fear. We have been saying for years this is not just a disaster, but a disaster in the making… it’s a time bomb,” said Atul Sati, an activist with the Save Joshimath Committee.

    Joshimath’s future is at risk, experts and activists say, due in part to a push backed by the prime minister’s political party to grow religious tourism in Uttarakhand, the holy town’s home state. On top of climate change, extensive new construction to accommodate more tourists and accelerate hydropower projects in the region is exacerbating subsidence — the sinking of land.

    ALSO WATCH:

    ‘Brain of North India’

    Located 1,890 meters (6,200 feet) above sea level, Joshimath is said to have special spiritual powers and is believed to be where Hindu guru Adi Shankaracharya found enlightenment in the 8th century before going on to establish four monasteries across India, including one in Joshimath. Visitors pass through the town on their way to the famous Sikh shrine, Hemkund Sahib, and the Hindu temple, Badrinath.

    “It must be protected,” said Brahmachari Mukundanand, a local priest who called Joshimath the “brain of North India” and explained that “Our body can still function if some limbs are cut off. But if anything happens to our brain, we can’t function. … Its survival is extremely important.”

    The town’s loose topsoil and soft rocks can only support so much and that limit, according to environmentalist Vimlendu Jha, may have already been breached. “You can’t just construct anything anywhere just because it is allowed,” he said. “In the short term, you might think it’s development. But in the long term, it is actually devastation.”

    Hindu priests pray to save their town in the famed Adi Shankaracharya monastery, in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, Jan. 20, 2023. (Photo | AP)

    At least 240 families have been forced to relocate without knowing if they would be able to return.

    Prabha Sati, who fled Joshimath in a panic last month when her home began to crack and tilt, came back to grab the television, idols of Hindu gods and some shoes before state officials demolished her home. “We built this house with so much difficulty. Now I will have to leave everything behind. Every small piece of it will be destroyed,” she said, blinking back tears.

    Authorities, ignoring expert warnings, have continued to move forward with costly projects in the region, including a slew of hydropower stations and a lengthy highway. The latter is aimed at further boosting religious tourism, a key plank of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

    In 2021, Modi promised a prosperous decade ahead for Uttarakhand. It is dotted with several holy shrines and improving the state’s infrastructure has already led to a steady rise in pilgrims over the decades. Nearly 500,000 passed through Joshimath in 2019, state data shows. “In the next 10 years, the state will receive more tourists than it did in the last 100 years,” Modi said.

    ALSO READ | The Himalayan loot that triggered the Joshimath disaster

    Paying the price for religious tourism

    A big Uttarakhand tourism draw is the Char Dham pilgrimage, one of the toughest in India. The route takes people to four, high-altitude Hindu temples. Pilgrims traverse challenging terrain, dropping oxygen levels and harsh weather between Badrinath, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Yamunotri temples. In 2022, over 200 out of the 250,000 pilgrims died while making the journey. Authorities said the rise in visitors was straining existing infrastructure.

    Already underway, the Char Dham infrastructure project aims to make the journey more accessible via a 10-meter (32-foot) wide and 889-kilometre (552 miles) long all-weather highway as well as a 327-kilometre (203-mile) railway line that would crisscross through the mountains. It is a controversial project with some experts saying it will exacerbate the fragile situation in the upper Himalayas where several towns are built atop landslide debris.

    An ariel view of a construction site of one of the longest railway tunnels, spanning 15 kilometres along the Rishikesh-Karanprayag line to connect the Char Dam pilgrimage, in Lachmoli village, Uttarakhand, Jan.18, 2023. (Photo | AP)

    Veteran environmentalist Ravi Chopra called the project a desecration when he resigned from a court-ordered committee studying its impact. To create such wide roads, engineers would need to smash boulders, cut trees and strip shrubbery, which he said will weaken slopes and make them “more susceptible to natural disasters.”

    Urban planning expert Kiran Shinde suggested a pedestrian corridor instead, noting these places were never meant for cars or crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands. “The highway is the most disastrous thing to happen to the Char Dham,” said Shinde, a professor at Australia’s La Trobe University who has written on religious tourism. “Let people walk.”

    Cracks continue to form. Located near a rail line construction site, Sangeeta Krishali’s home in Lachmoli, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Joshimath, has them. She fears for her safety: “It happened there, it can happen here, too.”

    In Joshimath’s foothills, construction was paused on a road for the Char Dham project that would ferry tourists faster to the Badrinath temple after cracks emerged in people’s homes.

    Locals feared it was too late. A long, jagged crack running across one of the front walls in the famed Adi Shankaracharya monastery had deepened worryingly in recent weeks, said Vishnu Priyanand, one of the priests. “Let places of worship remain as places of worship. Don’t make them tourist spots,” he pleaded.

    ALSO READ | Joshimath sinking: Mental health issues add to trauma of displaced

    ‘Go back NTPC’

    It’s not just the highways. For the past 17 years, Atul Sati, the Save Joshimath Committee member, has been convinced that a hydropower station located near his town could one day ruin it. He isn’t alone. In late January, hundreds of residents protested against the National Thermal Power Corporation’s Tapovan project. Posters reading ‘Go back NTPC’ are plastered across the town’s main market.

    “Our town is on the verge of destruction because of this project,” Sati said.

    Locals say construction blasts for a 12-kilometre (7-mile) tunnel for the station are causing their homes to crumble. Work has been suspended but NTPC officials deny any link to Joshimath’s subsidence. An expert committee is still investigating the cause, but state officials earlier blamed faulty drainage systems.

    A resident shows multiple cracks on the walls of his house, in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, Jan. 19, 2023.  (Photo | AP)

    The state government announced interim relief packages, including compensation worth 150,000 rupees ($1,813) to each affected family, said Himanshu Khurana, the officer in charge of Chamoli district where Joshimath is located. Various government agencies were conducting surveys to determine what caused the damage, he added.

    The crisis in Joshimath has reignited questions over whether India’s quest for more hydropower in the mountains to cut its reliance on coal can be achieved sustainably. Uttarakhand, home to more than 30 rivers and surrounded by melting glaciers, has around 100 hydropower projects in varying stages.

    In 2021, 200 people died after the Tapovan plant near Joshimath was submerged by severe floods caused in part by fast-shrinking glaciers, and over 6,000 were killed in the state after a devastating cloudburst in 2013.

    The heavy construction required for hydropower, like blasting boulders, diverting river flows and cutting through forests, in a region already vulnerable to climate change, could do irreparable damage, experts warn. It could also displace entire villages, as residents of a hamlet near Joshimath found out.

    ALSO READ | Joshimath sinking: Displaced people say, “wounds will no longer heal”

    From sacred hamlet to dumping site

    Haat, a village along the Alaknanda River, was once a sacred hamlet that traced its origins to the guru Adi Shankaracharya, who is said to have established another temple here in the 8th Century. Today, it is a dumping site for waste and a storage pit for construction materials after the village was acquired in 2009 by an energy enterprise to build a hydropower project.

    The Laxmi Narayan temple, encircled by grey stacks of cement, is the only part of the village still standing. All of its residents left over the years as authorities began razing down their homes, said Rajendra Hatwal, once the village chief who now lives in another town nearby.

    The project, he fumed, had killed Haat.

    “What sort of development requires destroying these priceless places? We don’t want any part of it.”

    A court last year directed authorities to stop dumping waste near the historic temple, which was once the last rest stop for devotees on their pilgrimage to Badrinath.

    Hatwal and a few others still check in on the temple often. A caretaker, who refused to leave, lives in a makeshift room next to it. He sweeps the grounds, cleans the idols and prepares tea for the odd guest who comes through. They feared its days, like their homes, were also numbered.

    “We are fighting to protect the temple. We want to preserve our ancient culture to pass on to a new generation,” said Hatwal. “They have not only destroyed a village – they have finished a 1,200-year-old culture.”

  • Joshimath: Government releases compensation policy for disaster-hit people, damaged buildings 

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government has issued a compensation policy for buildings damaged in the Joshimath land submergence disaster. After the approval of the Governor, Secretary of Disaster Management Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha issued the government order.

    According to a government order issued on Wednesday, the compensation rates will be calculated on the basis of the rates of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) for the plinth area. Joshimath’s cost index will also be added to it. Compensation will be given by making slabs for commercial buildings. Three options have been given for permanent rehabilitation.

    According to information received from the state disaster management department, “The government has issued a compensation policy for the damaged buildings of Joshimath. The compensation for residential buildings has been fixed at Rs 31,201 per square metre to Rs 36,527 per square metre. For commercial buildings, the rates have been fixed at Rs 39,182 per square metre to Rs 46,099 per square metre.

    The compensation for the land will be decided after the report of the technical institutes. It will be placed in the next cabinet meeting for approval.

    Compensation for commercial buildings will be given after deducting the amount of depreciation of the affected building from the cost of the affected building based on the rates fixed in five slabs. Apart from this, five slabs have been fixed for compensation for shops and other commercial establishments. (hotels,dhabas, etc.)

    The government has already given three options for residential buildings.

    Option 1: Disaster-affected land building owners, whose residential buildings are not habitable based on the report of technical institutions, will be compensated at the rate fixed for the residential building. If the land is also declared unsafe, then it will also be compensated according to the rates fixed in the future.

    Option 2: If disaster-affected people whose buildings and land will be declared unsafe, if they demand land for a residential building while receiving building compensation, the maximum area to build a house for the affected person is 75 square meters. If the price of the unprotected land of the affected family is higher than the allotted land, compensation will be given separately by the government after adjustment.

    Option 3: The disaster-affected person can demand a residential building constructed relative to his land and building. Houses will be built by the state government on land up to a maximum area of 50 square meters. Apart from this, 25 square meters of land will be given for cow shelter and other work. Apartfrom this, separate compensation will be given if there is land.

    DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government has issued a compensation policy for buildings damaged in the Joshimath land submergence disaster. After the approval of the Governor, Secretary of Disaster Management Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha issued the government order.

    According to a government order issued on Wednesday, the compensation rates will be calculated on the basis of the rates of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) for the plinth area. Joshimath’s cost index will also be added to it. Compensation will be given by making slabs for commercial buildings. Three options have been given for permanent rehabilitation.

    According to information received from the state disaster management department, “The government has issued a compensation policy for the damaged buildings of Joshimath. The compensation for residential buildings has been fixed at Rs 31,201 per square metre to Rs 36,527 per square metre. For commercial buildings, the rates have been fixed at Rs 39,182 per square metre to Rs 46,099 per square metre.

    The compensation for the land will be decided after the report of the technical institutes. It will be placed in the next cabinet meeting for approval.

    Compensation for commercial buildings will be given after deducting the amount of depreciation of the affected building from the cost of the affected building based on the rates fixed in five slabs. Apart from this, five slabs have been fixed for compensation for shops and other commercial establishments. (hotels,
    dhabas, etc.)

    The government has already given three options for residential buildings.

    Option 1: Disaster-affected land building owners, whose residential buildings are not habitable based on the report of technical institutions, will be compensated at the rate fixed for the residential building. If the land is also declared unsafe, then it will also be compensated according to the rates fixed in the future.

    Option 2: If disaster-affected people whose buildings and land will be declared unsafe, if they demand land for a residential building while receiving building compensation, the maximum area to build a house for the affected person is 75 square meters. If the price of the unprotected land of the affected family is higher than the allotted land, compensation will be given separately by the government after adjustment.

    Option 3: The disaster-affected person can demand a residential building constructed relative to his land and building. Houses will be built by the state government on land up to a maximum area of 50 square meters. Apart from this, 25 square meters of land will be given for cow shelter and other work. Apart
    from this, separate compensation will be given if there is land.

  • Joshimath: State government offers flexible rehabilitation plans for disaster-affected people

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN: Nearly a month after the natural calamity of land submergence that damaged over 800 houses and commercial establishments in the ancient city of Joshimath, the government has proposed three options for rehabilitation and displacement of disaster-affected people.

    The state government has prepared a plan for the disaster-affected people with the option of one-time settlement in lieu of damage to land and buildings, as well as the option of house and land instead of land. On the suggestions of the committee formed at the district level, the High Powered Committee (HPC) headed by Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan has given its in-principle consent on all three options. The disaster-affected can choose any one of these options.

    The three options were approved after discussing the proposals made by District Magistrate Chamoli Himanshu Khurana at a meeting of the HPC chaired by Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan at the state secretariat on Monday. Giving details of the meeting, Secretary Disaster Management Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha said, “Joshimath disaster affected people can choose any one of the three options themselves”, adding, “Compensation for land will be decided on the basis of circle rate, the decision on new circle rate will be taken in the next cabinet meeting”.

    “Compensation for buildings will be given as per the prescribed standards of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), large hotels will be given full compensation, while small shops and hotels (dhabas) will be given two options. 

    As a first option, small shopkeepers and dhaba operators will be able to take full compensation simultaneously. Dr Sinha said.  As a second option, a shop will be allotted in 15 square meters at the displaced site.  

    “After receiving the final report of the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), it will be decided how many buildings will be removed and how many will be retrofitted,” added Dr Sinha.

    SETTLEMENT OPTIONS:

    Option One: First of all, disaster-affected people have been given the option of a one-time settlement. Under this, the affected land building owners will be paid full financial assistance for the damaged building and land within one time under the prescribed standards as compensation. Before payment, the registry of the affected land, and the building will be in favour of the state government.

    Option Two: 100 square meters of land for construction of houses, compensation will be given to the affected land building owners for the construction of houses in terms of the affected land.

    Option Three: Under this option, a duplex building will be constructed in a maximum area of 75 square meters at the identified place for the rehabilitation of the affected. If the residential building or land of the disaster-affected person is more than this, then they will be paid the remaining amount in return.

    Congress workers burn BJP president Mahendra Bhatt’s effigy

    BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt’s statement calling the Joshimath agitators “Maoists and agents of China” triggered outrage from Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti and Congress workers who burnt an effigy of Bhatt. Condemning Bhatt’s statement,  Samiti president Atul Satti demanded, “Bhatt should publicly apologise to the residents of Joshimath”.

    DEHRADUN: Nearly a month after the natural calamity of land submergence that damaged over 800 houses and commercial establishments in the ancient city of Joshimath, the government has proposed three options for rehabilitation and displacement of disaster-affected people.

    The state government has prepared a plan for the disaster-affected people with the option of one-time settlement in lieu of damage to land and buildings, as well as the option of house and land instead of land. On the suggestions of the committee formed at the district level, the High Powered Committee (HPC) headed by Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan has given its in-principle consent on all three options. The disaster-affected can choose any one of these options.

    The three options were approved after discussing the proposals made by District Magistrate Chamoli Himanshu Khurana at a meeting of the HPC chaired by Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan at the state secretariat on Monday. Giving details of the meeting, Secretary Disaster Management Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha said, “Joshimath disaster affected people can choose any one of the three options themselves”, adding, “Compensation for land will be decided on the basis of circle rate, the decision on new circle rate will be taken in the next cabinet meeting”.

    “Compensation for buildings will be given as per the prescribed standards of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), large hotels will be given full compensation, while small shops and hotels (dhabas) will be given two options. 

    As a first option, small shopkeepers and dhaba operators will be able to take full compensation simultaneously. Dr Sinha said.  As a second option, a shop will be allotted in 15 square meters at the displaced site.  

    “After receiving the final report of the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), it will be decided how many buildings will be removed and how many will be retrofitted,” added Dr Sinha.

    SETTLEMENT OPTIONS:

    Option One: First of all, disaster-affected people have been given the option of a one-time settlement. Under this, the affected land building owners will be paid full financial assistance for the damaged building and land within one time under the prescribed standards as compensation. Before payment, the registry of the affected land, and the building will be in favour of the state government.

    Option Two: 100 square meters of land for construction of houses, compensation will be given to the affected land building owners for the construction of houses in terms of the affected land.

    Option Three: Under this option, a duplex building will be constructed in a maximum area of 75 square meters at the identified place for the rehabilitation of the affected. If the residential building or land of the disaster-affected person is more than this, then they will be paid the remaining amount in return.

    Congress workers burn BJP president Mahendra Bhatt’s effigy

    BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt’s statement calling the Joshimath agitators “Maoists and agents of China” triggered outrage from Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti and Congress workers who burnt an effigy of Bhatt. Condemning Bhatt’s statement,  Samiti president Atul Satti demanded, “Bhatt should publicly apologise to the residents of Joshimath”.

  • Rehabilitation a difficult task for Joshimath administration, even the affected not unanimous

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN: Rehabilitation of Joshimath City, which was affected due to the land submergence disaster, has become a big challenge for the government. While the government has not yet been able to prepare a paper account of rehabilitation, displacement, and the affected are also not unanimous. While some people are talking about one-time settlement, many people do not want to leave their ancestral homes associated with their old memories.

    According to an official in revenue department, as many as 269 families in the land submergence-hit area have been shifted to relief camps set up at various places. These affected people are also worried about their future.

    Vinita Sundariyal, Rekha Joshi, Ranjana Negi, Anju Khanduri, Sushma Sati, Sarita Sati, Sarita Chamoli, Rekha Namboori, Jyoti Nautiyal and many more say that the government should assess the house, farm and give compensation on the lines of Badrinath so that they can settle their land in lump sum.

    Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana told The New Indian Express on Sunday, quoting the District Disaster Management Authority, “863 buildings in 9 wards of Joshimath Nagar area have been affected. Of these, 181 buildings have been kept in unsafe areas. The district administration has so far temporarily displaced 925 members of 275 families to various safer places due to security reasons”.

    District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana also inspected the land identified in dhaka village for the displacement of disaster-affected people on the spot, he said, “Two meetings have been held with the committee regarding the security, rehabilitation, displacement of Joshimath. The committee has given some suggestions under which paper documents are also being prepared. Along with this, their suggestions are also being taken from the affected public representatives”.

    People living in Joshimath for decades also say, “Displacement of Joshimath affected by landslides is not easy. It is India’s border town bordering China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself is also describing border towns, villages as the first village”. Also, the government plans to develop these areas in the tourism sector. In such a situation, displacement elsewhere in Joshimath would mean the destructionof the city, which is not good for strategic and security as well as social infrastructure.

    DEHRADUN: Rehabilitation of Joshimath City, which was affected due to the land submergence disaster, has become a big challenge for the government. While the government has not yet been able to prepare a paper account of rehabilitation, displacement, and the affected are also not unanimous. While some people are talking about one-time settlement, many people do not want to leave their ancestral homes associated with their old memories.

    According to an official in revenue department, as many as 269 families in the land submergence-hit area have been shifted to relief camps set up at various places. These affected people are also worried about their future.

    Vinita Sundariyal, Rekha Joshi, Ranjana Negi, Anju Khanduri, Sushma Sati, Sarita Sati, Sarita Chamoli, Rekha Namboori, Jyoti Nautiyal and many more say that the government should assess the house, farm and give compensation on the lines of Badrinath so that they can settle their land in lump sum.

    Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana told The New Indian Express on Sunday, quoting the District Disaster Management Authority, “863 buildings in 9 wards of Joshimath Nagar area have been affected. Of these, 181 buildings have been kept in unsafe areas. The district administration has so far temporarily displaced 925 members of 275 families to various safer places due to security reasons”.

    District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana also inspected the land identified in dhaka village for the displacement of disaster-affected people on the spot, he said, “Two meetings have been held with the committee regarding the security, rehabilitation, displacement of Joshimath. The committee has given some suggestions under which paper documents are also being prepared. Along with this, their suggestions are also being taken from the affected public representatives”.

    People living in Joshimath for decades also say, “Displacement of Joshimath affected by landslides is not easy. It is India’s border town bordering China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself is also describing border towns, villages as the first village”. Also, the government plans to develop these areas in the tourism sector. In such a situation, displacement elsewhere in Joshimath would mean the destruction
    of the city, which is not good for strategic and security as well as social infrastructure.

  • Joshimath sinking: Demolition of unsafe buildings resumes; buildings with cracks rise to 863

    By PTI

    DEHRADUN: The demolition of ‘unsafe’ buildings in subsidence-hit Joshimath in Uttarakhand resumed on Saturday as the weather improved, even as the number of buildings with cracks rose to 863, officials said.

    They also said the discharge of water near JP colony here reduced to 136 LPM.

    “The discharge of water there (JP Colony) stood initially at 540 LPM. A substantial reduction in this is a positive sign,” Ranjit Kumar Sinha, secretary, Disaster Management told reporters here.

    Water has been flowing from a point near the colony since January 2.0

    Sinha said cracks have been noticed in 863 buildings so far and 274 families have been evacuated to temporary relief centres.

    “An amount of Rs 3.62 crore has been distributed to 242 affected families as interim relief so far,” he said.

    Meanwhile, drilling machines and bulldozers were back in the town to dismantle hotels — Malari Inn and Mount View — and the PWD’s inspection bungalow as the weather cleared Saturday morning.

    The demolition exercise had been temporarily halted on Friday due to bad weather following heavy snowfall and rain, adding to the woes of people living in temporary relief camps.

    “Providing relief to the affected people in Joshimath is among the top priorities of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at present,” an official release here said.

    Adequate arrangements have been made at the temporary relief centres for the affected people to protect them from cold.

    Heaters and blowers have been supplied to 76 families, thermal wears to 110 people, hot water bottles to 175, woollen caps to 516, warm socks to 280 and shawls to 196 people, it said. Foodgrain kits have been supplied to 771 people, blankets to 601 and daily use kits to 114 people, the release added.

    Joshimath, the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib and international skiing destination Auli, appears on the edge of a precipice with gaping cracks appearing on buildings, roads and public facilities. The state government faces an uphill task of providing relief and rehabilitating the affected families in brutal winter.

    ALSO READ | Joshimath sinking: Will follow experts’ opinion on crisis, says U’khand govt

    DEHRADUN: The demolition of ‘unsafe’ buildings in subsidence-hit Joshimath in Uttarakhand resumed on Saturday as the weather improved, even as the number of buildings with cracks rose to 863, officials said.

    They also said the discharge of water near JP colony here reduced to 136 LPM.

    “The discharge of water there (JP Colony) stood initially at 540 LPM. A substantial reduction in this is a positive sign,” Ranjit Kumar Sinha, secretary, Disaster Management told reporters here.

    Water has been flowing from a point near the colony since January 2.0

    Sinha said cracks have been noticed in 863 buildings so far and 274 families have been evacuated to temporary relief centres.

    “An amount of Rs 3.62 crore has been distributed to 242 affected families as interim relief so far,” he said.

    Meanwhile, drilling machines and bulldozers were back in the town to dismantle hotels — Malari Inn and Mount View — and the PWD’s inspection bungalow as the weather cleared Saturday morning.

    The demolition exercise had been temporarily halted on Friday due to bad weather following heavy snowfall and rain, adding to the woes of people living in temporary relief camps.

    “Providing relief to the affected people in Joshimath is among the top priorities of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at present,” an official release here said.

    Adequate arrangements have been made at the temporary relief centres for the affected people to protect them from cold.

    Heaters and blowers have been supplied to 76 families, thermal wears to 110 people, hot water bottles to 175, woollen caps to 516, warm socks to 280 and shawls to 196 people, it said. Foodgrain kits have been supplied to 771 people, blankets to 601 and daily use kits to 114 people, the release added.

    Joshimath, the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib and international skiing destination Auli, appears on the edge of a precipice with gaping cracks appearing on buildings, roads and public facilities. The state government faces an uphill task of providing relief and rehabilitating the affected families in brutal winter.

    ALSO READ | Joshimath sinking: Will follow experts’ opinion on crisis, says U’khand govt

  • Cracks in another guesthouse after PWD building razed in Joshimath

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN: Even as the relief work in Joshimath has gathered pace, the threat to life has also increased. Despite the government’s continuous efforts towards relief and rescue work, the number of cracks in the houses is increasing daily.

    The situation in the land submergence area is constantly raising concerns for the administration as Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) guest house, where a team of scientists is staying for inspection, has also developed cracks. Fresh cracks have also been observed in the Sanskrit College buildings built in relief camps. The scientists and officials who came to Joshimath for investigation used to stay at the VIP guest house of GMVN near Gandhi Maidan.

    As soon as the cracks were noticed in the building on Wednesday morning, the staff informed the District Tourism Officer of Chamoli. Cracks have also developed in the buildings behind the police station in the city. It is being told that recently there have been cracks here.

    A policeman said there is a big pit behind the police station and the cracks have increased significantly in two days. According to the daily report released by the District Disaster Management Authority Chamoli regarding land submergence,  849 buildings in nine wards of Joshimath Nagar area have been affected. Of these, 181 buildings have been kept in unsafe zones. DM Chamoli Himanshu Khurana told this newspaper, “The priority of the administration is to rehabilitate the affected people.“The distribution of relief material and assistance amount is also being done contiuously.”

    Heading towards a disaster

    Home Minister Amit Shah to announce special relief package for the displaced soonAdministration seeks option of rehabilitation site for affected 258 families with 865 peopleAuthorities worried over crack in relief camp hotel building

    DEHRADUN: Even as the relief work in Joshimath has gathered pace, the threat to life has also increased. Despite the government’s continuous efforts towards relief and rescue work, the number of cracks in the houses is increasing daily.

    The situation in the land submergence area is constantly raising concerns for the administration as Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) guest house, where a team of scientists is staying for inspection, has also developed cracks. Fresh cracks have also been observed in the Sanskrit College buildings built in relief camps. The scientists and officials who came to Joshimath for investigation used to stay at the VIP guest house of GMVN near Gandhi Maidan.

    As soon as the cracks were noticed in the building on Wednesday morning, the staff informed the District Tourism Officer of Chamoli. Cracks have also developed in the buildings behind the police station in the city. It is being told that recently there have been cracks here.

    A policeman said there is a big pit behind the police station and the cracks have increased significantly in two days. According to the daily report released by the District Disaster Management Authority Chamoli regarding land submergence,  849 buildings in nine wards of Joshimath Nagar area have been affected. Of these, 181 buildings have been kept in unsafe zones. DM Chamoli Himanshu Khurana told this newspaper, “The priority of the administration is to rehabilitate the affected people.“The distribution of relief material and assistance amount is also being done contiuously.”

    Heading towards a disaster

    Home Minister Amit Shah to announce special relief package for the displaced soon
    Administration seeks option of rehabilitation site for affected 258 families with 865 people
    Authorities worried over crack in relief camp hotel building

  • Joshimath sinking: Eight more areas at risk of land subsidence in Uttarakhand

    Express News Service

    JOSHIMATH: With cracks running houses and the city’s infrastructure, the scope for further incidents of land subsidence in Uttarakhand has caused a state of concern among scientists.

    With Joshimath continuing to sink, reports pointing to potential land subsidence in eight more cities across the state have now come to light. At least three cities in Uttarakhand face the prospect of landslides and erosion. Subsidence is also taking place in Mussoorie, Nainital, Bhatwadi of Uttarkashi, Munsiyari, and Purnagiri of Champawat. Meanwhile, Gopeshwar, Karanprayag and Srinagar are also under threat.

    Professor Y P Sundriyal, head of the department of geology at the Central University of Srinagar Garhwal, has warned that large parts of Srinagar are situated on the debris of floods, and unplanned construction here, can prove to be dangerous.

    Speaking to TNIE, Sundriyal said, “The landscaping of Gopeshwar’s land is similar to that of Joshimath as the ground surface here is also completely on landslide material and the hard rock is 100 metres below. In such a situation, whatever heavy structure is being prepared for settlement, it is being done on landslide material. The cracks of Karnaprayag should not be underestimated”.

    Sundariyal added, “The Mandakini Valley had caused terrible devastation in the Kedarnath disaster of 2013, but we did not learn from it. On the contrary, construction in many places is being done on the debris of the disaster, which can be very deadly in the future.”

    Meanwhile, a geophysical and geotechnical survey will be carried out by a team of scientists from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, IIT Roorkee, and the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) Hyderabad in Joshimath.

    The surveys will be key to studying the landslides and will reveal the path of water flow in the region. The study will also reveal the pressure of water underground and highlight the possibilities which could lead to water getting off the ground. 

    The geophysical survey will also reveal the status of silt and clay in the water present under the ground.

    Geologist Dr AK Biyani said,” It has been clear in previous scientific research that Joshimath glacier is situated on the mud. It is clear that the thickness of this mud will be different at different places. If it is moving, then what is its direction of motion? NGRI Hyderabad has expertise in this work.”

    ALSO READ: WEB SCRAWL| The Himalayan loot that triggered the Joshimath disaster

    JOSHIMATH: With cracks running houses and the city’s infrastructure, the scope for further incidents of land subsidence in Uttarakhand has caused a state of concern among scientists.

    With Joshimath continuing to sink, reports pointing to potential land subsidence in eight more cities across the state have now come to light. At least three cities in Uttarakhand face the prospect of landslides and erosion. Subsidence is also taking place in Mussoorie, Nainital, Bhatwadi of Uttarkashi, Munsiyari, and Purnagiri of Champawat. Meanwhile, Gopeshwar, Karanprayag and Srinagar are also under threat.

    Professor Y P Sundriyal, head of the department of geology at the Central University of Srinagar Garhwal, has warned that large parts of Srinagar are situated on the debris of floods, and unplanned construction here, can prove to be dangerous.

    Speaking to TNIE, Sundriyal said, “The landscaping of Gopeshwar’s land is similar to that of Joshimath as the ground surface here is also completely on landslide material and the hard rock is 100 metres below. In such a situation, whatever heavy structure is being prepared for settlement, it is being done on landslide material. The cracks of Karnaprayag should not be underestimated”.

    Sundariyal added, “The Mandakini Valley had caused terrible devastation in the Kedarnath disaster of 2013, but we did not learn from it. On the contrary, construction in many places is being done on the debris of the disaster, which can be very deadly in the future.”

    Meanwhile, a geophysical and geotechnical survey will be carried out by a team of scientists from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, IIT Roorkee, and the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) Hyderabad in Joshimath.

    The surveys will be key to studying the landslides and will reveal the path of water flow in the region. The study will also reveal the pressure of water underground and highlight the possibilities which could lead to water getting off the ground. 

    The geophysical survey will also reveal the status of silt and clay in the water present under the ground.

    Geologist Dr AK Biyani said,” It has been clear in previous scientific research that Joshimath glacier is situated on the mud. It is clear that the thickness of this mud will be different at different places. If it is moving, then what is its direction of motion? NGRI Hyderabad has expertise in this work.”

    ALSO READ: WEB SCRAWL| The Himalayan loot that triggered the Joshimath disaster

  • Joshimath sinking: Residents to hold protests on R-Day, blame NTPC over disaster

    Express News Service

    JOSHIMATH: Terming the incident a “man-made disaster”, the residents of Uttarakhand’s sinking town of Joshimath blamed the National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. (NTPC) for the ongoing land subsidence in the region.

    Unhappy with the state government’s decisions, the Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (JBSS) has demanded the closure of the NTPC’s Tapovan project.

    On the occasion of Republic Day, locals have decided to ‘gherao’ the authorities and lock down the tunnel work, under which ward-wise programs will start from Tuesday.

    Atul Sati, convenor of Sangharsh Samiti, said, “Now that evidence has been received, NTPC is solely responsible for this tragedy and the destruction of Joshimath’s cultural heritage. Therefore, the compensation should also be recovered from NTPC.”

    The committee members also unanimously decided there should be displacement along the lines of Tehri Dam.

    Sangharsh Samiti convener Atul Sati also alleged that since the Joshimath tragedy case has gone out of the hands of the Dhami government, the central government will have to take a consensus and swift action at the earliest.

    The Sangharsh Samiti leaders also expressed anguish over the manner in which relief cheques were being distributed and called the photo-ops “a cruel joke on the disaster victims.” 

    Expressing his anguish to this correspondent, Vivek Panwar, a resident who has been associated with the profession of trekking and skiing for the past 15 years, said, “It is very important for the state government to make arrangements for the residence and employment of Joshimath residents as well as understand their feelings before they are displaced.”

    “You have ruined our business…our Joshimath,” he added.

    ALSO READ | Joshimath: The neglected warning from 46 years ago

    JOSHIMATH: Terming the incident a “man-made disaster”, the residents of Uttarakhand’s sinking town of Joshimath blamed the National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. (NTPC) for the ongoing land subsidence in the region.

    Unhappy with the state government’s decisions, the Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (JBSS) has demanded the closure of the NTPC’s Tapovan project.

    On the occasion of Republic Day, locals have decided to ‘gherao’ the authorities and lock down the tunnel work, under which ward-wise programs will start from Tuesday.

    Atul Sati, convenor of Sangharsh Samiti, said, “Now that evidence has been received, NTPC is solely responsible for this tragedy and the destruction of Joshimath’s cultural heritage. Therefore, the compensation should also be recovered from NTPC.”

    The committee members also unanimously decided there should be displacement along the lines of Tehri Dam.

    Sangharsh Samiti convener Atul Sati also alleged that since the Joshimath tragedy case has gone out of the hands of the Dhami government, the central government will have to take a consensus and swift action at the earliest.

    The Sangharsh Samiti leaders also expressed anguish over the manner in which relief cheques were being distributed and called the photo-ops “a cruel joke on the disaster victims.” 

    Expressing his anguish to this correspondent, Vivek Panwar, a resident who has been associated with the profession of trekking and skiing for the past 15 years, said, “It is very important for the state government to make arrangements for the residence and employment of Joshimath residents as well as understand their feelings before they are displaced.”

    “You have ruined our business…our Joshimath,” he added.

    ALSO READ | Joshimath: The neglected warning from 46 years ago

  • Joshimath: At the behest of state cabinet minister, ISRO removes satellite images and report

    Express News Service

    JOSHIMATH: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has removed the satellite images of the land submergence and the report claiming that Joshimath was submerged within a day, following objections from the state government. Speaking to The New Indian Express, state Cabinet Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat, who is camping in Joshimath to monitor and assess the situation, confirmed this after contacting ISRO officials.

    Meanwhile, the Centre has issued strict instructions prohibiting scientists, geologists and other concerned officials from sharing any kind of Joshimath land submergence report with the media.

    In fact, this report of ISRO said that in the last 12 days i.e. from 27 December2022 to 8 January 2023, there was a 5.4 cm landslide in Joshimath. ISRO had also said that in the last seven months, the landslide in Joshimath was 9 cm.

    Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat said, “There was panic among the people of Joshimath city after ISRO pictures related to the submergence of Joshimath went viral and news related to it was broadcast on TV channels, when this happened, they spoke to the ISRO director over phone” “I requested him to either issue an official statement regarding the photographs or remove the photographs from the website if there is nothing like that”, added Minister Dr Dhan Singh.

    WATCH |

    Secretary Disaster Management Dr. Ranjit Kumar Sinha, while giving information about the relief and rescue related works being done to the media on Saturday, said “An amount of Rs 187.50 lakh has been distributed by the state government as advance for displacement per family. It has been proposed by CBRI,Government of India to design and construct pre-fab huts for the affected people on their other protected land”.

    The disaster management team will again visit Joshimath on Sunday, during which Additional Secretary (Disaster), Geologist and Central officials will also be present.

    JOSHIMATH: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has removed the satellite images of the land submergence and the report claiming that Joshimath was submerged within a day, following objections from the state government. Speaking to The New Indian Express, state Cabinet Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat, who is camping in Joshimath to monitor and assess the situation, confirmed this after contacting ISRO officials.

    Meanwhile, the Centre has issued strict instructions prohibiting scientists, geologists and other concerned officials from sharing any kind of Joshimath land submergence report with the media.

    In fact, this report of ISRO said that in the last 12 days i.e. from 27 December2022 to 8 January 2023, there was a 5.4 cm landslide in Joshimath. ISRO had also said that in the last seven months, the landslide in Joshimath was 9 cm.

    Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat said, “There was panic among the people of Joshimath city after ISRO pictures related to the submergence of Joshimath went viral and news related to it was broadcast on TV channels, when this happened, they spoke to the ISRO director over phone” “I requested him to either issue an official statement regarding the photographs or remove the photographs from the website if there is nothing like that”, added Minister Dr Dhan Singh.

    WATCH |

    Secretary Disaster Management Dr. Ranjit Kumar Sinha, while giving information about the relief and rescue related works being done to the media on Saturday, said “An amount of Rs 187.50 lakh has been distributed by the state government as advance for displacement per family. It has been proposed by CBRI,
    Government of India to design and construct pre-fab huts for the affected people on their other protected land”.

    The disaster management team will again visit Joshimath on Sunday, during which Additional Secretary (Disaster), Geologist and Central officials will also be present.