Joshimath is sinking: Supreme Court declines urgent hearing on land subsidence
In the Joshimath land subsidence case, the Supreme Court of India has denied urgent hearing on the petition filed by Swami Avimukteshwarananda. The court will hear the matter on January 16. The Supreme Court said that there were institutions elected through democracy, which were looking into this matter and it was not necessary to bring every case to it.
Notably, 2 hotels will be demolished in Joshimath, Uttarakhand on Tuesday. The expert team has taken this decision after cracks appeared in the houses here. Among the luxury hotels Malari Inn and Hotel Mount View, Malari Inn will be demolished first. Both are 5-6 storey hotels. Teams have reached the spot with bulldozers.
The work of demolishing them will be done under the supervision of the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI). SDRF team is also present on the spot. Swami Avimukteshwaranand appealed to the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing on this matter. The court has refused. The hearing will be held on January 16.
Today a team of Ministry of Home Affairs will come to Joshimath and take stock of the damage caused by the landslide. 478 houses and 2 hotels have been identified to be demolished. So far 81 families have been evacuated.
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SDRF’s action plan to demolish two hotels
Two hotels Malari Inn and Hotel Mount View will be demolished. SDRF Commandant Manikant Mishra said that the team has decided to demolish Hotel Malari Inn today. First the upper part will be razed. Both the hotels are very close to each other and there are houses around them, so it is necessary to demolish them. If the hotel sinks further, it will collapse. SDRF has been deployed. People are being asked to go to safe places through loudspeakers.
Joshimath divided into 3 zones
The state government has decided to divide Joshimath into three zones. These zones will be – Danger, Buffer and Safe Zone. There will be such houses in the danger zone which are very dilapidated and not fit for habitation. Such houses will be demolished manually, while those in the safe zone will have mild cracks and are less prone to collapse. Those houses in the buffer zone will have minor cracks but are prone to crack growth. A team of experts has recommended the demolition of houses with cracks.
We have nothing to do with the landslide – NTPC
State power producer NTPC has said that the Tapovan Vishnugarh project has nothing to do with the landslide in Joshimath. Notably, a hydro project of NTPC is also being considered responsible for the Joshimath landslide. Local people say that tunnels were dug for NTPC’s hydro project, due to which the city is sinking. Although NTPC has rejected all these things.
279 trains cancelled, 36 trains and 40 flights delayed in North India due to bad weather conditions
