Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to assess a trail of widespread rain-inflicted destruction in Himachal Pradesh, Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur on Monday reviewed preparations relating to the visit. In an informal interaction with the media here, BJP leader Thakur expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Modi for visiting Himachal Pradesh and inspecting disaster-affected areas.
“On behalf of the entire Himachal Pradesh, we are grateful to the Prime Minister for standing with us in crisis and sharing our grief.”Former Chief Minister Thakur said he will apprise the Prime Minister of the damage to public and private property to enable the state to get the maximum financial assistance.
He thanked the Prime Minister for providing central agencies, the NDRF, the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force for relief and rescue operations.The BJP leader said this time the disaster has given “irreparable wounds”.“Monsoon normally withdraws in September.
But this time the state has been experiencing heavy rains, landslides and cloudbursts and the state is suffering huge loss of life and wealth. We had raised this issue before the Centre earlier also. Multi-sectoral teams have also been formed by the Home Minister to study disasters.”Thakur said that on the night of June 30, when the monsoon started, there was a huge devastation in Mandi district.
“Forty-two people lost their lives on a single day and thousands of people became homeless. Now in the month of September also, pictures of devastation are coming from every corner of the state.”Thakur said the devastation is also impacting the horticulture and agriculture sectors.
“The apple is ready to harvest but roads are closed. The apple economy of thousands of crores is on the verge of destruction. The government will have to restore the roads as soon as possible otherwise the apple will rot in orchards. Likewise, vegetables are rotting due to lack of transportation,” he said.
He said the Central government has given a financial assistance of Rs 5,150 crore to the state in various heads for disaster relief.“During the just concluded Assembly session, we came to know that the government has disbursed only Rs 300 crore to disaster-affected people,” he added.
The state has estimated the total loss caused by natural disasters of over Rs 4,000 crore. At least 203 people have lost their lives as a result of 136 landslides, 95 flash floods and 45 cloudbursts across the state since the onset of monsoon.