I will not rest until things are normal: Himachal CM on flood situation
Amid the ongoing flood like situation in the Himachal Pradesh, CM Sukhu on Sunday assured that his government will not take rest till things get normalised.
Travelling district to district, camping at Kullu for 60-hours on ground zero, getting airborne for aerial surveys ,reaching out rain and flood affected families ,embracing the victims and even wiping tears of teenage child, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu perhaps not slept fully or taken a break ever since severe relentless rains, landslides and floods hitting Himachal Pradesh badly. Millennium Post’s Ashwani Sharma spoke to the Chief Minister even as he was rushing for Solan to visit the landslide hit Shamti area, and a shelter home there on Saturday.
What is the extent of damage due to torrential rains in Himachal Pradesh?
Catastrophic in many ways.The rains have broken 50 years record.At Least, I have not seen such torrential downpour in my memories.This eventually caused severe flooding in our rivers that breached into the towns and Highways. The swollen Beas engulfed Manali, Kullu ,Mandi and several other towns on the river banks. Hundreds of parked cars, buses and trucks were washed away and bridge bridges--a vital conne city in the hills and roads vanished in the blink of an eye. Over 110 deaths have been reported and 900 to 1100 roads disrupted or blocked.
What the MeT department is saying .Was there a warning ?
There was a warning about high and very high rains in eight districts. We had alerted all DCs and SPs beside our Disaster Management Agency. No boody knew about the rains to be so torrential as to break all old records. The data itself suggests that a record 223 mm rains happened between July 7 to 11 --almost 30 percent of total monsoon rainfall of the state. The monsoon rainfall happens normally between July to September. The floods and landslides triggered by the rains have left a trial of devastation in the mountain state.
Have you assessed the losses?
Yes, we have got the reports compiled. Initial estimates suggest a loss of Rs 7000 to 8000 cr to the state infrastructure, roads,bridges ,Highways, water supply schemes, power establishments ,telecom and transport. The number of deaths may not be very high because the rains happened mainly during the day time. This gave time to the people to escape unforeseen deaths .
How is the situation now?
Our National Highways particularly Chandigarh-Manali, Parwanoo –Shimla, have almost been erased . Nearly 100 –yr old bridge near Pandoh got totally damaged, another 50-yr old bridge at Aut in Kullu also was washed away, apart from a dozen other bridges. The connectivity to Shimla and Manali is restored only temporarily. So is the water supply and power in Kullu.
Your interventions helped to evacuate and rescue 70,000 tourists stranded in the state
We rescued 70,000 tourists and 15,000 vehicles, within 24 hours . Our relief machinery worked at super speed . We know there were thousands of tourists staying in hotels and homestays in Manali , Kullu and popular destinations like Kasol and Manikaran. Since the road connectivity was disrupted, power supply was affected and the telecom network was non-functional .We used every mode to reach-out the tourist whose families and friends were frantically calling our helplines and control room.Many posted panicked messages on Twitter ,whatsapp and facebook. We reached everyone and assured that all tourists were safe and cointacted had been established via mobile phones, satellite phones ,helpline numbers ,control rooms and police personnel on the ground.
Was the Chandratal operation really challenging ?
That is true .About 290 people were stranded at a height of 14,100 feet in camps at Chandratal in Lahaul-Spiti , the tribal district .It was snowing heavily .The temperature had dipped down to minus four degrees .
The IAF refused to take risks to fly its choppers as the place had no landing area and weather was bad. I asked Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sanjay Awasthi to reach there and lead the ground teams. All tourists were evacuated safely as my teams walked 18 to 24 km on snow .There was a trace of road yet they did it.I really thank both of them, police,home guards, volunteers and local administration there.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to you.
It was a crisis situation . I am thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji who reached-out to me and conveyed his genuine concerns on natural calamity. He assured me all help. Later, I had briefed union home minister Amit Shah and Union minister for Highways about the losses. The state has asked for an interim help of Rs 2000 cr from the centre.
The experts say it was a man-made disaster?
I don’t agree. They should come to see how we have suffered because of unprecedented rains, cloud bursts ,floods and landslides.Well if they are suggesting that we should build infrastructure, widen our roads or Highways to avoid hill cuttings etc, this is not good advice .Nevertheless we are conscious about the protection of the environment and strike a balance between development and ecology. There is certainly a link between the development and ecological degradation. There have been floods and landslides happening even before this. I certainly propose to get a study done as why such a devastating and flood fury this time?.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has ridiculed the demand for share in the river water ,which is now flooding both Himachal and Punjab.
I don’t want to join issue with him at this moment. We are fighting an unprecedented natural calamity. I appeal to everyone to extend their helping hand.
Are you getting support from the opposition BJP?
BJP National President J P Nadda spoke to me and appreciated the state government efforts on relief and rescue operations undertaken at war footing. He also visited Kullu and Mandi. They have assured help. The central team is also expected to visit next week.
How much time it will take to normalise things ?
A new weather alert about more rains has been issued. We are advising the people to avoid unnecessary travels or stay away from the water bodies. Nevertheless, I am confident that we will bounce back. The people in the hills have weathered many storms and braved gravest natural calamities.The government stands with them like a stock. I will not rest till things get normalised.
