BJP flays govt for failure to tackle snow, rain despite early warning

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 15

The BJP today criticised the state government for its failure to take adequate steps to meet the challenges of snow and rain, despite a warning issued by the Meteorological Department.

Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition P K Dhumal said the Met Department had been issuing warnings of heavy snowfall and rain on December 13 and 14 but the government did not bother to stop the tourists and locals from moving to Rohtang Pass. As many as 2,000 persons, including 800 tourists, were stranded at Marhi due to heavy snow, he claimed.

Fortunately, no untoward event took place and people were successfully rescued with the help of the locals but if the government had taken precautionary measures, time and resources of the government could have been saved, he added.

Dhumal said the government had not learnt any lesson from the Largi incident which did not go well with the tourists visiting the state. It was high time the government understood that disaster management did not mean rescue operations after a tragedy but precautionary measures to avert the tragedy, he added.

Stating that the snowfall had exposed the government’s preparedness, BJP state spokesperson Ganesh Dutt said a large number of areas in the interiors were still cut off from the rest of the state and there was no light for two to eight hours in the state capital also. Dutt alleged that the people who got hurt in the snow due to slippery conditions were not getting medical treatment in the hospitals.

Meanwhile, Former Horticulture Minister Narinder Bragata said Jubbal and Kotkhai were cut off from the rest of the state and there was no light in the region from the past two days. People were finding it difficult to move out of their houses and were reeling under intense cold conditions.