Joshimath, March 30 (). People who were shifted to hotels by the administration after cracks appeared in their houses in Joshimath in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand have now been asked by the hotel owners to vacate their hotel rooms by March 31. This has been said by the hotel owners in view of the upcoming travel season for Chardham pilgrimage in the state.
However, the administration has said that it has written to the government to extend the deadline for keeping the affected people in hotels. The government’s reply is yet to come on this.
In the first week of January, a landslide in Joshimath displaced people in hotels, dharamshalas and rented houses. The government is paying Rs 950 per day rent for a room in hotels. Those who are living in rented houses are being given five thousand rupees every month. 694 members of 181 families are staying in various hotels and dharamshalas of Joshimath municipality area. Arrangements have also been made for their food and drink.
The government had made arrangements for the disaster-affected people to stay in hotels till March 31. As the deadline nears, hoteliers have started asking the affected to vacate their rooms.
Hotel owner Govind Singh says that there are 10 rooms in his hotel. Two of these rooms have been given to the disaster affected. The administration had asked to keep the affected till March. Now they need rooms for Chardham Yatra. Sometimes large groups of pilgrims come. In such a situation, if the disaster affected people are kept here, then they will not be able to provide rooms to the pilgrims.
Kuldeep, another hotel owner, says that he has six rooms in his hotel, three of which have been given to the people affected by the disaster. The government had said that Rs 950 would be given for a room per day, but no payment has been made so far.
Kuldeep said that now the rooms will have to be vacated in view of the Chardham Yatra.
District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said, orders were received (from the state government) to shift the disaster-affected people to hotels by March 31. The government has been written to keep the affected in hotels till April 30.
He said, even after March 31, no disaster-affected person would be thrown out of the hotels. If any hotel owner is asking the affected people to leave the hotel, it will be investigated.
SDM Kumkum Joshi said, we had permission till March 31 to accommodate the disaster affected people in hotels. The government has been written to extend the period. The rent of most of the hotels has been paid. However, rent has not been paid to some home stays and hotels due to non-completion of GST.
It has been almost three months since the Dhansav in Joshimath. But the suffering of the disaster affected people continues to haunt them.
Meena Devi of Singhdhar ward of Joshimath, who is staying with her family in the hotel, says that her five-member family has been living in a single room since January 13. The hotel owner has asked to vacate the room by March 31. There is no room available for rent in the market. Now we have to return to our broken house.
Ukha Devi, a disaster victim staying in the same hotel, says, “We are looking for a room on rent, but we are not able to find one in the safe area, rooms are full everywhere.”
Similarly, Rama Devi, a disaster victim, says, “We had found shelter in a Dharamshala, but now we are being asked to leave in view of the Chardham Yatra.” I have two children. Husband has died. Initially, ration was given for cooking, but now even that is not available. The Health Department team is also not coming to the area.
State Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Sinha said, yet the letter of District Magistrate Chamoli has not been received in this regard. The decision will be taken according to the suggestions given by the district administration.
He said that the government will take full care of the hoteliers and the disaster affected people.
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