Joshimath Residents Reject Relocation To Faraway Area

Residents of Joshimath, where cracks and fissures had appeared on houses and on the ground a year ago, have rejected the Uttarakhand government's proposal to relocate them to a village near Gauchar, around 90 km away, citing that their livelihood depended on the temple town, people familiar with the development said.

Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, a civil society group comprising residents of the temple town in Chamoli district, said the decision to reject the government's proposal conveyed to them by Uttarakhand disaster management Secretary Dr Ranjit Sinha in a meeting on Sunday was "unanimous".

"In a recent meeting with affected residents and stakeholders, disaster management secretary Dr Ranjit Sinha informed that the state government had identified land in Bamoth village near Gauchar for rehabilitation of the most affected people. However, people unanimously rejected the proposal," Atul Sati, convener of the Samiti, said in a social media post on Sunday.