Himachal: Sukhu announces ₹7 crore relief for restoration work in disaster-affected areas in Mandi
₹ 7 crore relief for restoration work in disaster-affected areas in Mandi
On the second day of his tour, the chief minister visited Thunag, Bagsiad, Deji, Bara and Syanj villages, and reviewed the damage caused by the recent cloudbursts. He assured all possible support from the state government to affected families.
The chief minister said the state Cabinet would soon discuss and announce a special relief package for those impacted by the disaster.
Fifteen people lost their lives, five sustained injuries, and 27 are still missing after 10 cloudbursts triggered flash floods and a landslide in Mandi district on the intervening night of June 30 and July 1.
The calamity caused large-scale destruction, affecting 1,184 houses, 710 cow sheds and 201 shops. As many as 780 livestock also perished in the disaster.
According to an official statement, ₹2 crore was released earlier, and an additional ₹2 crore each has now been allocated to the Public Works Department and the Jal Shakti Department. One crore rupee will be provided to the Block Development Office to expedite restoration work.
In Deji village alone, 11 people are still missing due to a cloudburst. Two deaths were reported from Bara and four from Syanj village, where five people are still unaccounted for.
The chief minister, who interacted with affected families at the Pakhrar Panchayat Ghar, directed revenue officers to immediately assess all types of losses. He instructed officials to declare as 'completely damaged' any houses filled with silt or debris or those deemed unsafe to live in, so that maximum compensation can be provided.
The chief minister also assured compensation for damaged household goods and perished livestock, and issued special instructions to assess losses suffered by horticulturists and apple growers.
Calling the disaster "massive," the chief minister said rehabilitation would take time, but the government would provide full support to the victims.
While in Bara, the chief minister said the government was considering a one-time settlement policy for resettling families displaced by natural calamities. Since 68 per cent of land in Himachal Pradesh is classified as forest land, permission from the Centre would be sought to rehabilitate affected families on forest land, he added.
To ensure the education of students continues without disruption, the chief minister said that classes for the Forestry and Horticulture College in Thunag would temporarily be held in Sundernagar, Mandi district.
In Thunag, schoolgirls apprised the chief minister of the damage to their school building. Responding to their concern, he announced the opening of a CBSE-affiliated school in the area.
He said major roads have been reopened and restoration of village link roads was being carried out on a war footing.
On Wednesday evening, the chief minister had directed officials to closely coordinate with Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur to accelerate relief and rehabilitation work in Mandi.
The directions came after the two leaders jointly reviewed the situation and inspected the flood-ravaged Thunag market area.
The chief minister asked officials to expedite the restoration of roads, drinking water supply and electricity. He said he would soon visit Delhi to seek a special relief package from Union ministers.
He directed departments to prepare detailed project reports for damaged roads, bridges, and water and electricity supply schemes within a week. He specifically mentioned the 56-km Chail Chowk–Janjheli road, which will be proposed under the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund for strengthening.
Despite the destruction, the chief minister noted that 60 per cent of drinking water schemes had been temporarily restored. He directed the Public Works Department to ensure connectivity through the construction of bailey and suspension bridges, for which the government would provide necessary funds.
The chief minister and Thakur also discussed the urgent need to resettle families who have lost land and shelter in the disaster. Thakur pointed out that with winter approaching, swift action is needed for their rehabilitation.
The chief minister directed the Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, to identify safe locations for temporary resettlement and install prefabricated structures to provide immediate shelter. He reiterated the need to assess the losses suffered by horticulturists, a key economic group in the region.
On Wednesday night, the chief minister stayed at the Thunag rest house with affected families and reviewed the facilities being provided to them, the statement added.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
2 days ago
- NDTV
Monsoon Havoc In Himachal: 147 Lives Lost, 235 Roads Blocked
Shimla: Heavy rains continue to wreak havoc in Himachal Pradesh, disrupting public utilities and causing widespread damage. According to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), 235 roads remain blocked, along with 56 power distribution transformers and 139 water supply schemes, as of Friday morning. The cumulative death count during this monsoon season has risen to 147, with 79 people killed in rain-related incidents such as landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts, and 68 losing their lives in road accidents, SDMA reported. District-wise, Mandi is the worst-hit, with 144 road blockages, followed by Kullu (58 roads) and Kangra (11 roads). National Highway 70 (NH-70) remains closed between Mandi and Kotali due to heavy landslides. Water supply disruptions are severe in Mandi (65 schemes) and Kangra (59 schemes). The report also noted significant losses to agriculture, horticulture, and infrastructure, with damage to public property exceeding Rs 1,38,753 lakh since June 20. Rescue and restoration efforts are underway across the state, but persistent rainfall continues to impede operations. SDMA, in its cumulative report released on Thursday, stated that essential services have also been disrupted. A total of 173 water supply schemes are currently non-operational, particularly in Mandi, Kullu, and Sirmaur districts. Additionally, the power supply remains disrupted in 56 areas due to damage to distribution transformers. Restoration work is underway on a war footing by teams from the Public Works Department and the National Highways Authority. Authorities continue to caution residents against travel in vulnerable areas, warning that persistent heavy rains may trigger further landslides and flash floods in the coming days. Commuters and residents in vulnerable areas are advised to stay alert and avoid non-essential travel.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Indian Express
Heavy rain lashes Delhi-NCR again, more likely
Heavy rain lashed Delhi and many parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) on Wednesday morning, leading to severe waterlogging and traffic snarls during peak-hour traffic. According to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the highest rainfall was logged at Lodhi Road (11.2 mm), followed by Safdarjung, Delhi's base station (9.3 mm), and Pragati Maidan (6.5 mm). Other stations like Palam, Ridge, Ayanagar and Pusa recorded 1 mm or less rain. The rainfall also resulted in a dip in the day temperature, as the maximum settled at 30.8 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal. The night temperature was also two notches below normal, at 25.6 degrees Celsius. On Thursday, maximum temperature is expected to hover between 30 and 32 degrees Celsius. Further rainfall is likely in the coming days, although no new alerts have been issued yet beyond Wednesday morning's nowcast. Waterlogging and traffic disruptions were reported from several parts of Delhi, including South Delhi, Southeast Delhi, North Delhi, ITO, South Extension, NH-8, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Nehru Place, East of Kailash, and Colony Road, among others. Meanwhile, according to the Public Works Department officials, there was no major waterlogging reported from identified hotspot areas like the Minto Bridge underpass. The IMD issued a red alert for Northeast and Southeast Delhi-NCR at 8.40 am, warning of moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds reaching speeds of up to 40 kmph, with the alert valid for two hours. Other regions, such as Northwest and Southwest Delhi, along with nearby areas of Haryana and Rajasthan, remained under an orange alert, with a forecast of light to moderate rain and gusty winds. The sudden escalation came just over an hour after IMD issued an orange alert for the entire Delhi-NCR in its nowcast bulletin at 7.30 am. As the rainfall intensified in the following hour, the IMD upgraded the alert level for several eastern and southern parts of the city. At 8 am, IMD predicted moderate to heavy rainfall over the central and southern parts of Delhi. The same was also predicted in NCR areas, such as Noida, Greater Noida, Indirapuram, Dadri, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, and Ballabgarh. Despite the heavy rainfall, IMD's seven-day forecast issued on Tuesday night had not flagged any significant warnings for July 23. It had predicted generally cloudy skies with light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms or lightning. This was later revised, and a yellow alert was sounded for the day as part of its weekly forecast.
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Indian Express
Assam is parched this monsoon – and its paddy farmers are getting desperate
With rain just starting to pick up in various parts of Assam, which has witnessed a significant shortfall of rain this monsoon and a drought-like situation across nearly half the state this month, farmers are racing to transplant their rice seedlings in an effort to salvage this year's kharif paddy. Till July 21, IMD data shows 16 of 33 districts (Assam has 35 districts, but the IMD data does not account for the relatively new districts of Bajali and Tamulpur, which are also located in the rain deficient region) have a 'large deficient' — between 66% and 90% lower than normal for that time of the year — in rainfall, parching the ground and in many areas, cracking the ground in paddy fields. Because this also coincides with the season for transplanting rice seedlings in paddy fields in a state with limited irrigation coverage and agriculture is largely rain-dependent, over half of the area cultivated for kharif paddy in these districts has been hit either by transplanted seedlings failing because of the lack of rain or by farmers unable to transplant the seedlings at all because of the dry soil. However, with rainfall picking up in various areas since July 20, farmers are rushing to puddle the soil and transplant seedlings. According to agriculture department data, as of Monday, out of the 7.52 lakh hectares of kharif paddy agriculture land in 14 districts identified as experiencing a 'drought-like situation', around 3.28 lakh hectares of land had not yet been cultivated. In 1.36 lakh hectares of land, transplantation had taken place, but the seedlings were damaged by the lack of rain. This is estimated to be affecting 2.7 lakh farming families across 4,071 revenue villages. An agriculture department official said that in normal years, the transplantation process is completed by mid-July. The kharif paddy, transplanted in the monsoon and harvested in the winter, accounts for nearly 81% of Assam's annual rice cultivation. 'There is a window of another 10-15 days for most farmers to transplant popular varieties of this season's paddy. Seedlings are first grown in seed beds, and after a month, they are transplanted to the fields. For this, the main fields need to be moist and puddled. After transplantation, the seedlings cannot survive in dry fields and need a few inches of water. Because the earth is dry, many farmers have not yet been able to transplant the crops, and the window for this is limited is limited because if it is delayed, it affects the productivity and can result in lower yield,' said an agriculture department official. The situation has prompted the state government to swing into action, and in a meeting last week, the state Cabinet recognised the situation as 'state specific disaster' and gave 'in-principle approval' for extending compensation to affected families from the State Disaster Relief Fund. 'According to SDRF norms, the compensation is Rs 17,000 per hectare for irrigated cultivation and Rs 8,500 per hectare for rain-fed cultivation. This will be released after a loss assessment is done in August-September jointly by different departments, including agriculture, revenue and statistics,' another official said. 'Other steps are also being taken. Community nurseries have been established in all districts to replace destroyed seedlings. A drought advisory is also in the process of being created. It is also new and unprecedented territory, because this is not an issue we have dealt with in recent years. In recent years, there was a similar situation in 2021, but only restricted to Golaghat district,' the official said. Rajib Lochan Das, professor of Agricultural Meteorology at Assam Agricultural University, said that the limited irrigation coverage in the state makes agriculture particularly vulnerable to the climatic changes it is increasingly experiencing. 'Paddy cultivation in Assam during the kharif season heavily depends on SW monsoon rainfall, as only 12% of the area is under irrigation. In recent years, climate change has had a significant impact on rainfall patterns. The monsoon has become increasingly erratic and unpredictable, featuring more frequent heavy rainfall events, fewer rainy days, a decline in moderate rainfall events and an increasing number of consecutive dry days. Additionally, early floods, which occur before or after the onset of the SW monsoon, have become a common occurrence,' he said.
