Joshimath update: Demolition of two 'unsafe' hotels begins in 'sinking' town 

Joshimath sinking: The process of demolishing two 'unsafe' hotels in subsidence-hit Joshimath began on Thursday after the administration agreed with property owners demanding fair compensation.

Two hotels - Mount View and Mallari Inn - were declared 'unsafe' after they tilted and their upper portion touched each other. The administration declared both buildings unsafe and ordered their demolition.

However, the owners of the hotels stalled the exercise for two days as they were not given any word on compensation. 

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Malari Inn's owner Thakur Singh Rana said he was not against the demolition but he was demanding fair compensation from the government.

"I am demanding compensation be given to me like it was given during development projects in Badrinath. The state government is not cooperating at all. I will sit here until I die," he said. 

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Over 700 houses and roads have developed cracked in Joshimath, a holy town in Uttrakhand's Chamoli. At least 169 families and nearly 600 people have been shifted to safer locations. Nearly hundreds of houses have been marked unsafe as they have developed wide cracks. 

Updating about the steps taken so far, Uttarakhand Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha said 169 families and 589 people have been relocated so far. Eight teams of SDRF and two teams of NDRF have been deployed at Joshimath for disaster relief operations. "If any situation arises, the army helicopter is on standby, and our helicopter is on standby too. Army unit is also on standby," he said.