Amid demolition, CM says ‘natural disaster’ | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Amid demolition, CM says ‘natural disaster’

By, Joshimath
Jan 12, 2023 11:51 PM IST

Cranes rolled into Joshimath on Thursday to begin the process of demolishing a hotel damaged by subsidence even as Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stoked a row by arguing against growing scientific evidence to insist that the sinking of land in parts of the holy town and cracks on 700-odd buildings was a “natural disaster” not caused by anyone.

Cranes rolled into Joshimath on Thursday to begin the process of demolishing a hotel damaged by subsidence even as Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stoked a row by arguing against growing scientific evidence to insist that the sinking of land in parts of the holy town and cracks on 700-odd buildings was a “natural disaster” not caused by anyone.

Demolition of a hotel underway in Joshimath on Thursday. (PTI)
Demolition of a hotel underway in Joshimath on Thursday. (PTI)

After two days of protests by local residents relented, authorities managed to get the consent of the owners of Hotel Malari Inn to demolish the building that’s been left titling dangerously by the land subsidence which first surfaced in November. The demolition will last a week, with work being carried out round the clock in three shifts. Around 5pm, the hotel’s owners walked out of the building with tears in their eyes as other residents sought compensation, and blamed unplanned development in and around the hill town for the disaster.

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After offering prayers at Narsingh Devta temple, the winter abode of the Badrinath deity in Joshimath on Thursday morning, Dhami told reporters: “It’s a natural disaster and has not been caused by anyone. In this hour of crisis, we are with the people of Joshimath and will help them in all possible ways.”

Experts and locals have attributed the subsidence to damage to the underground water strata from NTPC’s tunneling work, unplanned development in the town, and the use of heavy machinery for construction of Helang bypass as part of the Char Dham road project.

Responding to reports, including in HT, of possible subsidence in other areas of the Chamoli district, including Karnaprayag, the CM said: “It’s an old problem. We are working to resolve it.” The Uttarakhand government has asked IIT-Roorkee to conduct a scientific survey to find the reasons of the cracks in buildings at Karnaprayag.

But experts disagreed with the chief minister.

Hemant Dhyani, noted environmentalist and member of the Supreme Court-appointed High Powered committee (HPC) on Char Dham Project, said: “There are so many reasons to suggest that it’s not a natural disaster. Our policymakers allowed several projects like NTPC hydro power project in the fragile geology despite scientists and experts from time-to-time warned about their catastrophic consequences. They deliberately ignored the warnings for their greed. Before introducing these projects, they didn’t conduct the carrying capacity of the area to understand their ecological impacts on the holy town. Such statements suggest that our policy makers would never adopt sustainable approach.”

Around 5pm, disaster relief bodies went to the top floor of the hotel and removed non-structural objects using a gas cutter and other equipment. Then, water tanks placed on the top floor were brought down using a rope. Malari Inn owner Thakur Singh Rana walked to a government relief camp. The seven-floor hotel opened in 2005 and has 28 rooms, Rana said, estimating its worth to be at least 15 crore.

Rana, who had earlier threatened to set himself ablaze if the authorities forcefully demolished his property, said, “I agreed for the demolition of the hotel since it is a danger to lives and other structures in its proximity… nothing about compensation has been communicated to me by the authorities.”

Once the demolition of Malari Inn is completed, authorities will raze the building next door — Hotel Mount View. The two hotels have leaned against each other dangerously and major cracks had appeared at both their entrances since December. The state government has said no other residential structure will be demolished.

“The mechanical demolition would take a week or more. We have taken all safety measures to ensure the safe demolition. Every element will be cut and taken off the building. We began from the top and initially non-structural elements like furniture, and frames will be released to load off the building,” said Central Building Research Institute’s (CBRI) chief scientist DP Kanungo, who is supervising the process.

Uttarakhand SDRF commandant Manikant Mishra said they suspended the demolition work at around 7pm due to bad weather and it will restart tomorrow

Mandodari Devi, who lived in Singh Dhar ward, just below the badly damaged Malari Inn hotel, met Dhami when he came to the relief camp at the local municipal office on Wednesday evening. “I asked for immediate compensation from the CM for our damaged house so that we can shift to the place of our choice,” she said, rejecting the government’s offer to settle them at Pipalkoti, about 30km from Joshimath.

“We have been pleading with the government for three years to halt the developments works to prevent subsidence. But, no one heard us,” she added

Usha Bisht, who is also staying in the relief camp, said they told the CM about the difficulties that we are facing at the camp. “I told him that our family can’t be here in a tiny room for too long. It’s already been over a week. Our kids will start going to school in a few days. Where will we prepare their tiffin?” Anjali Rawat, who lives next to Usha Bisht, said, “CM came to our room yesterday evening. I asked the CM what they have done for the affected families. He gave no concrete assurance, just inspected the room and left.”

On Wednesday evening, Dhami inspected the relief camps and took stock of the arrangements there. He also met the affected families and assured them of all possible help from the government. Later in the day, Dhami also held talks with a newly formed committee of local public representatives and officials to discuss the immediate distribution of interim relief.

He said, “The market rate for rehabilitation will be finalised based on the suggestions by the committee. We will give the best compensation keeping in view the interests of affected people and stakeholders. The maximum that can be done by the government will be done.”

But the chief minister also stressed on getting on with business as usual, and not turning people away from Joshimath, critical to the state from both the religious and tourism aspects.

“Winter games are to be held in Auli in February. Char Dham Yatra is going to start in a few months. We also have to see that no wrong message goes outside Joshimath, so that the livelihood of the local people is not affected.”

Despite the CM’s visit, protests continued in Joshimath as local residents demand a rehabilitation package on the lines mentioned in Badrinath’s master plan. They did not allow the authorities to carry out the survey of unsafe structures and demolitions. The Badrinath master plan mentions a compensation of 76 lakh per nali under one-time settlement. One nali is equal to 2,160 sq ft. Residents also said that the interim relief of 1.5 lakh each to the affected families is not adequate. The state government had refused higher compensation saying unlike Badrinath, Joshimath a disaster affected region.

At the ITBP camp in Joshimath’s Sunil, the chief minister held a meeting with officials from ITBP, NDRF, scientists from various institutions, district administration, police, and essential services.

Anoop Nautiyal, a Dehradun-based environment activist, said, “The fact is that anthropogenic factors, especially the constructions in and around Joshimath have played a key role in weakening of the fragile terrain of the holy town. If it is a natural disaster, then what experts from different institutions are trying to find out?”

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