Govt announces Rs 1.5 lakh relief for affected families

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand government on Wednesday announced an interim relief of Rs 1.5 lakh to affected families in subsidence-hit Joshimath, paving way for their movement to safer locations after their houses were marked "unsafe".

Announcing the interim relief, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also stated the people affected by the crisis would be compensated at the market rate. "The market rate will be decided after taking the suggestions of the stakeholders," the CM's office said in a statement.

Secretary to Uttarakhand CM, R Meenakshi Sundaram, said, "Each family will be given immediate interim assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh. Apart from the two hotel buildings which are marked 'unsafe', no other building is being demolished. Till now, cracks have been noticed in 723 buildings."

Of the Rs 1.5 lakh, Rs 50,000 is being provided in advance for house shifting and Rs 1 lakh for disaster relief which will be adjusted later. Those who want to shift to a rented accommodation will be given Rs 4,000 per month for six months.

Sundaram further said that after January 7, no new cracks have developed and the old cracks have not increased. Water leakage near Jaypee Company decreased to 250 LPM by Tuesday evening.