Joshimath Sinking: When would all affected families get compensation? Is Char Dham Yatra safe?

Tragedy struck Joshimath in the first week of January, when land began subsiding. Initially, Uttarakhand chief minister visited Joshimath and announced an immediate relief of Rs 45crore for the affected families. This money was put at the disposal of the district magistrate. A full-fledged rehabilitation and resettlement policy for Joshimath was also passed by the cabinet, that gave three options to the residents:One-time settlement will be done by providing financial assistance to the affected landownerLand up to a maximum area of 100 square metre will be provided to the affected land-building owner, along with compensation money for house construction, which will be commensurate to his existing land, house or the property A house will be constructed on the land up to a maximum area of 75 square metre at the identified place for the rehabilitation Most opted for the first alternative. Till date, the Joshimath district administration has disbursed over Rs 6.53crore relief money to 25 affected families. Initially, 296 families were displaced out of which 196 families are still living in relief camps. The compensation amount has not reached the people because the state government has scarce resources. They are waiting for the Centre to pitch in to give relief money to all the affected families. A proposal has already been sent to the Union ministry of home affairs, but there has been no update on it.Uttarakhand government has also earmarked the financial allocation of 1000 crore for Joshimath and other areas in the state which are also facing subsidence problems, but that money will come later. Protests by Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti The Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti has been continuously protesting since the first week of January. They are protesting at the premises of the Joshimath tehsil. Their main demands include rehabilitation of all 5,000 families living in Joshimath, shutting off Tapovan Vishnu Guard hydel project and scrapping of the Hilang Bypass Road project, which have temporarily stalled by the district administration.The Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti is also demanding the release of the findings of eight technical and scientific institutions which conducted studies in January. The Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), which is based in Roorkee, was designated as the nodal agency among all the eight Central agencies involved in technical investigation of land subsidence in Joshimath. And CBRI had submitted the cumulative interim report to NDMA in February, but since then there has been no word about the findings.Ground situation in Joshimath, other affected places in Uttarakhand People are still living in relief camps and their future still hangs in balance. Though it seems that land is not subsiding at a speed as it was happening in the first fortnight of January, to say it has completely stopped, should be backed by scientific evidence and study. The last studies were done in January. Challenge posed by Chardham Yatra This is the biggest challenge for the Uttarakhand government and the Joshimath district administration right now. Over 40 hotels and a large number of guest houses have been used as shelter homes in Joshimath, considered the gateway to Badrinath Yatra. Even if the government or the district administration gets these hotels vacated and shifts the affected families to some other places, will it be feasible to allow lakhs of people in a town which is facing issues with land stability? Audio production: Shantanu Nanoti