Deal done, demolition exercise of unsafe hotels begins in 'sinking' Joshimath

JOSHIMATH/NEW DELHI: The process of pulling down two hotels in Joshimath that were declared unsafe following subsidence, began on Thursday after their owners reached a deal with the administration, full details of which were not immediately available. 

While agitated members of the local business community along with the hotel owners were seen protesting ever since the decision on demolition became public on Tuesday, the scene shifted to heavy machinery being used to dismantle equipment from hotels Malari Inn and Mount View with full cooperation from the owners and under the technical supervision of Roorkee-based Central Building Research Institute.

According to sources, Mount View’s Thakur Singh Rana and Malari Hotel’s Lalmani Semwal had direct discussions with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, after which they consented to the dismantling of the two buildings.

However, the demolition of Mount View was stopped within half an hour due to bad weather. The possibility of rain and snowfall in the next few days could hamper demolition, which is expected to be done within a week. “It will take a week to dismantle the two hotels,” informed District Magistrate Himansh Khurana.

The district administration had deployed a large number of police force at the spot to avert any untoward incident. Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha said the CBRI will also monitor the houses that need to be demolished and prepare designs of pre-fab huts for temporary rehabilitation.

Army ops unaffected
However, the subsidence has not affected the operational effectiveness of the military deployed towards the Line of Actual Control, Army Chief General Manoj Pande said. “There is no major damage on the main axis going beyond Joshimath,” he said.

About 25-28 Army buildings developed minor cracks and the units and jawans there have been temporarily relocated. If necessary, they can be moved permanently near Auli, he added. A key road has developed minor cracks, which the Border Roads Organisation is attending to. Work on an alternate route has been temporarily halted, he shared.

Shah takes stock
In Delhi, Union home minister Amit Shah assessed the situation in Joshimath at a meeting attended by Nitin Gadkari, R K Singh, Bhupendra Yadav and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and top officials