DEHRADUN: Over 1,000 buildings, including both residential and commercial structures are set for demolition in Joshimath.
Spread over four wards of the municipality, these buildings are located in high-risk zones that had borne the brunt of land subsidence in the past 18 months.
The severe land subsidence has led to the displacement of numerous families. Following a comprehensive survey, the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) has deemed these buildings completely unsuitable and unsafe for habitation.
According to a spokesperson for the disaster management department, around 1,200 houses are considered “unsafe” to live in. It has identified these buildings within a high-risk area and advised the government to take initiatives to rehabilitate the residents. Following the recommendation of CBRI, this is inevitable, and now these structures will be demolished.
On Saturday, State Disaster Management Secretary Ranjeet Sinha conducted a public hearing with local representatives in Joshimath Nagar Palika. But during the meeting, families affected by the land submergence in Joshimath refused to evacuate the city after extensive discussions.
Sinha has underlined the government’s commitment to consult the residents before making decisions. In Joshimath, the gateway town to the revered Badrinath, the initial signs of structural damage became evident in some houses in October 2021.
However, the local administration failed to take relevant action then. It wasn’t until 2022, when the cracks in buildings became more pronounced, that the administration finally noticed.
By 2023, these cracks had developed into a significant issue, with large and small fissures appearing on the floors, ceilings, and walls of 723 houses across nine city wards.
During this period, 145 families were temporarily relocated to safer accommodations as additional cracks emerged in the city’s structures. Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana informed this newspaper, “In January 2023, the administration classified Joshimath into three zones: Danger, buffer, and completely safe. A survey was initiated to evaluate the danger and buffer zones. As per government directives, completely unsafe areas were promptly evacuated and designated as danger zones.”
As per scientist Dr Ajay Chaurasia, following a study on the submergence of land, “the structural integrity of buildings was evaluated based on various parameters. Geologists’ reports were examined to assess ground fissures.