'U'khand govt failed to supply relief to disaster-hit people'

Accusing the state government of failing to supply relief to disaster-hit people in Uttarakhand, former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank today demanded that affected areas be handed over to the Army.
Raising the issue during a debate on the mid-June calamity in the state Assembly, Nishank said even three months after the catastrophic flashfloods, the state government had not understood its magnitude and failed totally in providing succour to affected people.
"I demand that flood-hit areas of the state be handed over to the Army so that people crying for help could get succour without delay," Nishank said.
Asserting that people had the right to know what steps the state government had taken to save lives and supply relief to people, he demanded a white paper on the crisis.

Participating in the debate, Congress MLA Rajendra Singh Bhandari refuted the allegations levelled by the opposition and claimed that he and a lot many others from the ruling party camped in the affected areas for over a month, rescuing stranded people and expediting efforts to build bridges and roads.