Actual dismantling of hotels begins in Joshimath
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun/Joshimath, 15 Jan: The dismantling of the two hotels, Hotel Mount View and Hotel Malari Inn, which had been stopped a few days ago in the wake of protests by the owners and other residents of Joshimath, began in full earnest today. The dismantling is being done under the supervision of the scientists from Central Building Research Institute (CBRI). It may be recalled that, over two days, the team of workers and supervisors had emptied the hotels of all material and items kept on various floors with the help of a crane. All the goods kept in the hotels were brought outside and after that the water tanks of the hotels were also emptied. The actual dismantling exercise could begin in right earnest today. Today, it was the turn of hammers and other tools and equipment to be used for dismantling. The CBRI team indicated that the hotels would be demolished in a phased manner over the next five to six days. The dismantling is being carried out by the PWD and the SDRF teams under direction from the CBRI scientists. The walls are also being demolished after removal of windows and doors with the help of hammers.
Both the hotels will be demolished in a phased manner over the next five days. After removing the windows and doors of the hotel as well as other items, the walls of the hotel are being broken with the help of hammers and mallets.
A complete ban was enforced on the movement of vehicles and common people in the area where the hotels are located by barricading the Badrinath Highway from both sides. The debris of the hotel is being disposed of by trucks.
District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana that that all the small materials from the roof of the hotel are also being safely removed. The debris is being disposed of at safe places.
Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary from the PMO Mangesh Ghildial also reached Joshimath today to inspect the ground situation and then provide personal feedback to the Prime Minister’s Office. On the other hand, Cabinet Minister in charge of the district, Dr Dhan Singh Rawat is also camping in Joshimath to oversee the relief and rescue measures. Speaking to the media persons there, Dhan Singh Rawat said the government is standing firm with the people of Joshimath. The government would do all that is possible to ensure that the affected families do not face any unnecessary inconvenience or problem. He said that seven agencies of the central and state governments have been deputed in Joshimath and are engaged in providing relief to the affected persons, constructing shelters and studying the subsidence. He added that, in order to prevent spread of any confusion, misinformation or panic, the photos posted by ISRO on social media had been removed. The survey of the affected area is still in progress and, so far, there is no definite conclusion regarding actual reasons behind the land subsidence.
On the other hand, demonstrations by disaster affected people continued even today in the local Tehsil premises. Meanwhile, according to the bulletin released this evening by the District Disaster Management Authority, Chamoli, so far 826 buildings have been located with cracks, out of which 165 buildings are in the area declared unsafe. A total of 233 families consisting of 798 persons have been temporarily shifted from the disaster affected zone in Joshimath, so far. It was also stated that an amount of Rs 2.495 crores has been distributed as interim relief to the affected families, so far. As many as 615 rooms with a capacity to host 2190 persons have been identified for temporary shelter of the affected persons in Joshimath and 491 rooms with a capacity to host 2205 persons had been identified in Pipalkoti outside Joshimath.
Meanwhile, according to unofficial sources, satellite pictures taken by ISRO, National Remote Sensing Centre (Hyderabad), the IIRS and Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology are being studied. This will be followed by matching of the satellite pictures from these agencies and the actual situation on the ground. Unofficial reports point towards subsidence to the extent of over 5 centimetres over the past few days, though none of the agencies are presently willing to officially confirm this. To establish a clear opinion about the future of Joshimath, more focus is on actual ground studies.
