Dubbing the Chief Minister's claim of having wiped out every tear from the eyes of the 2013 deluge-affectd people as a blatant falsehood, the State BJP spokesperson, Virendra Singh Bist, said on Thursday that the reality was different. He said the State Government should release a White Paper on the issue. "Many of the affected people are living after a fashion sans the Government's relief funds," he said.
Bist reiterated his party's stand that the State Government cannot care less for the unfortunate people rendered destitute following the calamity. "Three years have passed and things are still grim. It is a pity. The nation was stunned in shock by the magnitude of the tragedy. But the State Government has remained apathetic to their predicament. For instance, 145 bridges were washed away in the disaster, but the State Government has been able to reconstruct a few of them only. Several schools were razed. They are yet to be rebuilt," he said.
Citing the grave condition of the yatra routes, the BJP leader said that roads in Rambada and Sonprayag do not have the capacity to withstand landslides. "The pilgrims are returning home with bitter taste in their mouth. The arrangement of parking they have made is horrible," Bist said.
"The State Government has failed to provide them with logistic support like road, water and medical facility on the way for Char Dham yatra, something that gives a lie to the State Government's flamboyant claims," he said.
He further said a White Paper detailing the status on the rehabilitation to be issued by the State Government can only satisfy his party and the people.