CM Sukhu seeks Rs 2,000 cr relief as state battles aftermath of rain fury

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday sought Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre as interim aid and said the relief manual will be changed to enhance compensation to flood victims in the state.

Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall over the past week triggered landslides and flash floods, blocked roads and damaged infrastructure in Himachal Pradesh.

"I spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and requested him for an interim relief of Rs 2,000 crore," Sukhu said.

He added that the state has suffered losses of Rs 4,000 crore and said the figure is likely to go up as estimates continue to pour in.

Sukhu, who had announced Rs 1 lakh to every affected family, said changes will be made in the relief manual to enhance the compensation to the victims. According to the manual, each disaster victim is granted Rs 5,000 as aid at present.

Addressing reporters here, Sukhu said a disaster relief fund has been established to help the people in distress and all ministers in his government and Congress MLAs have decided to donate a month's salary to help the victims.

Associations of Indian Administrative Service and Himachal Administrative Services officers and others have also decided to contribute a day's salary to the fund, the chief minister added.

"We will request the BJP legislators to do the same," Sukhu said as he also appealed to the general public to contribute.

The government devised a three-point strategy -- rescue, evacuation and restoration. Having rescued and evacuated about 67,000 of the 75,000 tourists, including 250 stranded in snowbound Chandratal in Lahaul and Spiti, the focus is now on restoration of infrastructure, the chief minister said.

Some tourists are still in Kasol and Tirthan Valley. They are all safe and have been provided with food and other essential items, he said.

In the past 15 days, the state government has released Rs 1,100 crore, including Rs 610 crore to the Public Works Department, Rs 218 crore to the Jal Shakti Department and Rs 180 crore to the State Disaster Relief Fund, he said.

He clarified that the Rs 180 crore received from the Centre was the annual assistance given to the state during the monsoon and reiterated that the state government is yet to receive financial aid. He also urged the Union government to release the Rs 315 crore pending since last year.

The death toll since the onset of monsoon on June 26 has risen to 108 from 91 on Thursday while 12 people are still missing. As many as 667 houses have been completely and 1,264 partially damaged, according to the State Emergency Response Centre.

Of the 17 deaths reported in the past 24 hours, six were in road accidents in Mandi and Shimla districts. The death toll figure includes those killed in road accidents besides rain-related incidents.

Over 860 roads in the state are still blocked. The Himachal Road Transport Corporation has suspended operation on 994 routes while 260 buses are held enroute, Transport Department officials said.

Police teams are now focusing on inaccessible areas with tough topography and low mobile connectivity to trace stranded people.

Rescue operations are underway and police teams are moving to the tough interior areas where roads have been blocked due to floods and landslides, acting Director-General of Police Satwant Atwal told PTI.

A number of tourists stranded in Kasol, Manikaran and adjoining areas have refused to move out without their vehicles and decided to stay back till the situation normalises, she said.

The tourists said they would prefer to take their vehicles and wait for the roads to reopen, she added.

A landslide near Dunkhara on the Kasol-Bhuntar Road prevented the vehicles from moving, forcing the tourists to trek to reach the other side.

Noting the reluctance of some tourists to leave without their vehicles, Sukhu on Thursday said the police would provide them with a receipt that would allow them to take their vehicles when the roads reopen.

Families of tourists are still contacting the police to know their whereabouts. The police are now seeking details of hotels, vehicle numbers, and photographs besides the names, numbers and last locations to trace the tourists who have not communicated with their family members.

Light to moderate rain drenched some parts of the state and the local Met office has issued a 'yellow' alert for heavy showers at isolated places till July 18.