Himachal CM meets PM, gets assurance on immediate help for the losses due to flood

SHIMLA: Camping in the national capital, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on heavy losses which affected the state, especially some of the districts like Kullu, due to torrential rains and flash floods.

This was the first meeting of the chief minister with Modi after the two have spoken over phone following flash floods and rains in the state.

He informed Prime Minister that the state suffered huge losses and massive destruction has been caused to highways, link roads, irrigation, electric and water supply schemes along with enormous damage to public and private property.

Apprising Modi, he said some of the cloud bursts have left a trail of deaths and destruction in Kullu, Kinnaur, Shimla, Solan and Mandi districts and the hydro power projects including Larji project in the state due to floods.

The chief minister expressed gratitude to Modi for extending his help to the state during the hour of crisis and asked for a financial package from the central government for relief and restoration operations to bring back normalcy in the state.

Sukhu also informed the Prime Minister about damages suffered by the NHs, which connected Chandigarh with Kullu-Manali and Chandigarh with Shimla, the state capital.

Union minister for transport and highways Nitin Gadkari had already visited Kullu-Manali and had done an aerial survey of the Kiratpur-Manali Four lane. He himself had admitted that losses suffered by the state to its infrastructure was perhaps unprecedented and needed a huge cost.

Gadkari had announced Rs 400 crore financial help to the state and assured to restore all roads and bridges within one km of the NHs.

Sukhu said that an estimate of losses of about Rs 8000 crore has been assessed. The state government undertook relief and restoration operations out of its own meagre resources which were insufficient to bring the state’s infrastructure back on track.

The Prime Minister listened to the chief minister and said that the centre government has sent a team to assess flood damages in the state immediately and added that financial assistance will be released once the team submits the final report of damages. He assured all possible support to the state.

Earlier to this, Sukhu had also met BJP national president J P Nadda and sought his help for convincing the centre to grant a financial package to the state.

Day before this , the chief minister also called on Union Home minister Amit Shah and apprised him about the damages which the state has suffered this monsoon.

He also updated the Home minister about relief and restoration measures taken-up by the state government and also evacuation of 70,000 tourists who were stranded in the state after the flash floods and landslides last month.