Uttarakhand: Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana on Wednesday chaired a 19-member committee constituted to determine the cost of rehabilitation package and disburse the interim package amount to the affected people in Uttarakhand’s worst-affected Joshimath town. In the meeting chaired by the District Magistrate, it was decided to form a committee of local people. The Uttarakhand government has announced an interim assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh for the families affected in Joshimath due to the mudslide.
According to officials, 723 buildings in the town have developed cracks and 131 families have been shifted to safer places. The locals of Joshimath staged a protest against the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and asked it to leave the state. People have been asked to leave homes and other facilities that have been marked for demolition due to cracks and considered “unsafe” by district authorities.
Earlier, the owners of Hotel Malari Inn and Hotel Mount View were scheduled for demolition, however the process was suspended following concerns from the owner of Malari Inn and some residents. The protesters demanded compensation based on the prices mentioned in the master plan for the redevelopment of Badrinath Dham.