Joshimath | Demolition of damaged hotels 'essential' — 10 things to know about the crisis

An official explained that the demolition is essential because there are several houses and hotels around them, and "If these two (hotels) sink any further, they can collapse".  He was quoted by ANI as saying: "So, experts decided to demolish them. The CBRI experts are coming, they conducted a survey yesterday and now they'll give more technical information on the same."

The demolition of buildings will be done under the supervision of a team of experts from the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, news agency ANI reported. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is also on standby to assist the district administration as and when required. Teams of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) have also been deployed.

Joshimath has been divided into three zones based on the magnitude of possible danger — ‘Danger’, ‘Buffer’, and ‘Completely Safe’ zones. From evacuation to relief to unsafe zones — here are 10 things you need to know about the Joshimath crisis:

Demolition on but people need valuation of their property: The owner of Malari Inn said he should've been given a notice prior to the demolitions and a "valuation should've been made".

Other Residents of Joshimath, whose houses are earmarked for demolition, told CNBCTV-18 that the demolition process is all set to begin, but the government hasn't done evaluation of their properties. Residents said there are no talks of any compensation for them and once their houses and properties will be demolished, they won't be in any position to convince the government about the real value of their properties.

However, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, who visited the areas affected in Joshimath on Tuesday, assured that "people will get more than what's mentioned in the guidelines."

What is happening in Joshimath: Joshimath is sinking gradually with huge cracks developing in houses, roads and fields there. Many houses have suffered subsidence, locals said. Click here to more about how 'sinking' land is creating cracks in houses of Uttarakhand's Joshimath town.

How buildings are unsafe in Joshimath: In its bulletin, the District Disaster Management Authority in Chamoli said cracks have been noticed in a total of 678 buildings in the Joshimath town area. On Monday, red crosses were put up on more than 200  unsafe structures and many residents stayed on despite the imminent danger. The district administration in Joshimath has vacated the buildings located in unsafe zones.

How many families have been displaced: In view of security, over 80 families have been temporarily displaced.

Where are the residents being shifted to: The residents of the "unsafe zones" have been shifted to hotels, homestay and rented homes. They has also been asked to shift to temporary relief centres.

The state government has been providing Rs 4,000 per month for the next six months to each family shifting to rented accommodation.

How many rooms are habitable/rooms/halls in Joshimath: There are 16 places in Joshimath where temporary relief centres have been built for the affected people. "Under Joshimath city area, 213 rooms have been temporarily identified as habitable, with their capacities estimated at 1,191. Also, 491 rooms/halls have been identified in Pipalkoti outside Joshimath area, with a combined capacity of 2,205," the DDMA bulletin said.

Relief packages and food for affected families: A total of 63 food kits and 53 blankets have been made available for the affected locals. The administration also distributed funds to procure essential household items.

The Uttarakhand government is also working on designing a relief package for the people of the disaster-hit town, which will soon be sent to the Centre, Disaster Management, Ranjit Sinha was quoted by PTI as saying.

Court cases in connection with Joshimath crisis: The Supreme Court recently allowed a petition concerning the Joshimath “land-sinking” incident in Uttarakhand to be mentioned for early hearing on January 10.

The plea sought immediate intervention by the top court to assist the reparation and providing of urgent relief to people of Joshimath who are facing extremities and danger to their life and property due to the land subsidence.

It also sought direction to declare the current incidents of land sliding, subsidence, land sinking, land burst and cracks in the land and properties as national disaster. The Congress has also raised the demand for the same.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court declined urgent hearing of the plea and posted the matter on January 16. It said "everything which is important need not come to the apex court. There are democratically elected institutions working on it".

Team on ground: Team of NDRF and the SDRF are on ground to carry out evacuation. Besides them, a team of experts from National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Institute of Disaster Management, Geological Survey of India, IIT Roorkee, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Institute of Hydrology and Central Building Research Institute will study the situations and give recommendations, the PMO said.

PM on Joshimath crisis: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday and reviewed the situation, including the steps taken so far for the safety and rehabilitation of residents, and assured him of necessary assistance. He had said the top priority is to shift people from dangerous areas over a stretch of 350 meters in Joshimath to safe locations, including making pre-fabricated houses for these people.

Joshimath’s historical and strategic importance: The town part of the Chamoli district, is located at a height of more than 6,000 feet and apart from the local population, it is a garrison town with units of the Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Garhwal scouts who are present in the area for their primary task to guard the India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC) that is about 100 kms from away.

Joshimath has the historical as well as strategic importance. Historic because it one of the first in the north that was set up by Chakracharya and it is also one of the closest towns to the Line of Actual Control (LAC). "That means it has both strategic and religious significance for millions of people. And that means we need to be very very careful of what we do there," Anjal Prakash, an author on the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, had earlier told CNBTV-TV18.