HP govt declares entire state disaster-affected
Shimla: After travelling to most calamity-affected areas and holding a detailed review meeting with the DCs, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu declared the entire state disaster-affected.
Making a comprehensive statement in the state Assembly on Monday, the Chief Minister gave a horrifying account of the losses, fatalities, and damage to the public and private properties during the monsoon rains, cloudbursts, and landslides, besides floods, since June 20.
The CM stated that the cumulative loss has crossed Rs 3,056 crore, with maximum damage reported to roads, power infrastructure, and drinking water schemes in Chamba, Kullu, Mandi, Bilaspur and Kinnaur districts.
“The state has been carrying out relief and rescue operations on a war footing, with over 10,000 pilgrims and residents evacuated, including 5,067 devotees of the Manimahesh Yatra in Chamba, who were transported free of cost in HRTC buses,” he said.
The CM confirmed that 16 pilgrims had lost their lives, including four in Kugti, while arrangements for food, rations, medical aid, and rehabilitation have been ensured. He stated that four youths died at Kugti Pass due to hypothermia and low oxygen .
The government has deployed 40 NDRF and 40 SDRF personnel, along with local mountaineering teams from Manali, to assist in rescue operations, and Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi is continuously camping in Bharmour and has even trekked on foot to the worst-hit areas, setting new records of ground-level work,” the CM told the House.
PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh and other senior officials are also supervising the operations.
In Kullu district, transport services remain paralysed with major stretches of roads washed away. The NHAI chairman himself reviewed the damage, and efforts are on to restore connectivity, including the Malana Pulh for small vehicles.
The Tharot powerhouses are generating power again after recent damage to the plant, and mobile networks have also started resuming operations in Chamba and Kullu. Including Lahaul-Spiti, displaced families are being sheltered in homestays, panchayat ghars, and schools in the affected areas in
the state.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar has written a letter to the Centre, requesting the sanction of a special package worth Rs 20,000 crore for the state.
Sukhu placed the letter on record and read out its text.
He suggested that unclaimed funds worth Rs two lakh crore lying with the Centre’s unclaimed account should be utilised for disaster relief.
“We fully support Shanta Kumar’s suggestion, and a resolution to this effect has been passed in the Assembly,” Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania informed.
As per official details, 161 people have lost their lives due to heavy rains, and another 40 are missing. An additional 154 people have died in road accidents during this period.
