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Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday said that the rains and the resultant devastation in the state was the most catastrophic natural calamity the State has gone through in the last 50 years.
He was talking to reporters after conducting an aerial survey of flood affected regions of Fatehpur and Indora assembly segment, in district Kangra. He took stock of evacuation operations of the regions flooded downstream of Pong reservoir and other relief works.
Interacting with the people in relief camps set up at Damtal and Shekhpura the Chief Minister inquired into their well being, besides assuring them of all possible assistance from the government. Expressing concern over the loss, the Chief Minster said that damages to a huge extent have been caused to both the public and the private property. People have lost their homes and large areas under harvest have been submerged under water, causing huge loss to the farmers." I assure of special package, especially for these areas in terms of relief and compensation. Affected families will be provided increased compensation," Sukhu said.
He directed the administration to make sure that the people sheltered in relief camps may be looked after well. Apart from free lodging and boarding, the health department has also deputed medical teams to take care of children, elders besides others and directed to ensure sufficient stock of eateries, essential medicines besides anti-venom.
Interacting with the media, Sukhu said that as many as 27 Panchayats of Indora and Fatehpur area have been affected due to water logging downstream the Pong reservoir out of which 22 Panchayats have been severely affected due to flood. Nearly 1150 persons have been evacuated so far with the help of Indian Air Force, Army, National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force. Police and Home Guards personnel have also been roped in for the evacuation process, he added. He said that financial assistance of rupees one lakh would be provided for partially damaged house and all possible help will also be extended for rebuilding their houses.
Taking dig at the opposition on the issue of Vidhan Sabha monsoon session, Chief Minister said at the time of the disaster, the priority of the government was to mitigate the situation and bringing life back to normal. If the Vidhan Sabha session is convened at this juncture, the security personnel who have been roped in for the rescue and relief operations would have to be deployed for Vidhan Sabha related duties, thus hampering the relief process, he said.
GOVT TO PREPARE RS. 800 CRORE LONG-TERM DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PLAN
A day before on Tuesday, Sukhu visited Lalpani, Shimla to take stock of the damages caused by the tragic incident of landslides and instructed the district administration to accelerate relief and rescue operations. While interacting with media, he said that the timely response of the district administration has reduced the damages significantly as persons living in these houses had already been evacuated due to the impending danger.
Sukhu said that over 60 lives were lost on Monday due to heavy rains throughout the state, with the potential for that number to rise. The impact was most severe in Shimla, while farmers in Fatehpur, Kangra, suffered crop losses without any casualties. A rescue operation ensured after approximately 300 individuals were trapped due to the release of water from Pong Dam and fortunately, all were successfully rescued. The Mandi district also faced substantial damage due to the continuous heavy rainfall, he said.
Emphasizing the need to fortify urban drainage systems, the Chief Minister said that proper water management was important to prevent hill destabilization. The State Government was poised to develop a comprehensive plan to bolster drainage systems and integrate sound structural design principles for construction, he added.
In addition to these measures, the State Government was preparing a comprehensive, long-term disaster preparedness plan, earmarking around Rs. 800 crore for its implementation, which was aimed at mitigating the impact of future disasters and enhancing the state's resilience, said Sukhu.
HP SURPASSES AVERAGE RAINFALL FOR ENTIRE MONSOON IN 54 DAYS
Himachal Pradesh has already received 742 mm of rainfall in 54 days of monsoon this year against a season’s average of 730 mm it records between June 1 and September 30, a weather official said on Wednesday. The rainfall recorded in the state this July broke all records for the month in the last 50 years, Shimla Meteorological Centre Director Surinder Paul said. He added that the towns of Manali, Solan, Rohru, Una, Ghamroor, Hamirpur and Keylong broke previous records of rainfall in a single day for the month on July 9 when the state witnessed unprecedented downpours.
Himachal Pradesh received 223 mm of rainfall in four days from July 7 to 10 against an average of 41.6 mm for the corresponding period, Paul said. The state is currently witnessing its second spell of torrential downpour which began last Sunday. The official said the monsoon will be subdued in the next few days and become active again on August 25. Widespread heavy to extremely heavy showers lashed several parts of the state this season. As per official figures, the death toll in the rain fury in Himachal Pradesh this monsoon season has reached 327.