The disaster affected villagers in Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s Vidhan Sabha constituency of Dharchula in Pithoragarh district have not yet been provided the required reliefs even 13 days after the flash floods. Didihat MlA and former Bharatiya Janata Party chief of Uttarakhand, Bisan Singh Chufal levelled this allegation after paying a visit to relief camps and interacting with the villagers at Nachni and Naulda on Wednesday.
Calling for speedy rehabilitation of the disaster affected villagers, he opined that disaster affected people in the CM’s Assembly constituency not being provided any assistance yet for securing land and constructing homes exemplifies the inefficiency of the State Government.
Addressing the Didihat MlA, the disaster affected villagers raised their demand for immediate provision of land and `5.50 lakh for construction of their homes as facilitated in the case of 2013 disaster affected. They do not wish to remain in the relief camps for long, stressed the disaster affected persons.
Along with local party leaders, the Didihat MlA met disaster affected persons taking shelter at the Panchayat building at Nachni and the Government junior high school in Naulda and enquired about their condition.
Chufal said, “The disaster affected families in the Chief Minister’s Vidhan Sabha constituency are in dire straits. Bedding on the floor for 13 days now, the disaster affected persons have also started to suffer from detrimental effect on their health. The administration has not been able to facilitate even a couple of cots for the disaster affected villagers. The Congress Government doesn’t seem to have taken any lessons from the disaster which occurred in June 2013. The State Government could not even draft a policy for disaster relief and the rehabilitation of disaster affected people so far,” said Chufal. He further opined that the Congress-led Government under CM Harish Rawat had proved to be a failure when it comes to disaster relief and rehabilitation of the disaster victims.
local BJP leader Jagat Martoliya said, “The information about the dire condition of disaster affected people being worst in the CM’s Assembly constituency area needs to be conveyed to the people of the State. Dozens of 2013 disaster victims have not yet been provided the desired relief and rehabilitation by the Government.
Disaster relief funds appear to have been misappropriated the most in this Vidhan Sabha constituency due to which it is the actual disaster affected people who end up being deprived of relief,” said Martoliya.