CM Sukhu wants interim help on lines of Kedarnath, Bhuj, Maha earthquakes

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday made a fervent demand to the centre to provide an immediate interim central package on the lines of Kedarnath calamity, and earthquakes in Bhuj and Maharashtra.

He made this demand during his meeting with BJP National President J P Nadda and union minister for information and broadcasting here in Shimla.

Nadda alongwith Anurag Thakur was here to visit rain and landslide affected areas of Sirmaur , Shimla and Bilaspur after advise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi ,who had assured Chief Minister to extend all help to the state for relief and restoration works in the state. During the meeting, the Chief Minister provided a comprehensive overview of the destruction wreaked upon Himachal Pradesh by the calamity. “ I have made a special appeal to the centre for financial aid akin to that provided during the Kedarnath and Bhuj tragedies to aid the state’s recovery efforts” he said .

The Chief Minister underscored the severity of the situation and said that substantial landslides, widespread destruction of homes, and extensive damage to public and private property have been caused.

He said that the current Relief Manual of the Union government’s financial provisions are inadequate to compensate the losses of Himachal Pradesh and called for a specially tailored relief package considering the state’s geographical conditions and the severity of the disaster.

Sukhu also took up the issue of delayed release of the first installment of interim relief from the Union Government.