Citing severity of disaster, Himachal CM seeks special relief package

Shimla, August 20

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has demanded a specially tailored relief package for the state in view of its geographical conditions and the severity of the disaster. During a meeting with BJP National president JP Nadda, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurah Thakur and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur here today, Sukhu said the Centre’s relief manual for financial assistance was inadequate to compensate the losses of Himachal Pradesh.

While providing a comprehensive overview of the destruction, he appealed for a financial aid akin to that provided during the Kedarnath and Bhuj tragedies to aid the state’s recovery efforts.

The Chief Minister underscored the severity of the situation and said that substantial landslides, widespread destruction of homes and extensive damage to public and private property had been caused.

Sukhu also took up the issue of delayed release of the first instalment of interim relief from the Union government and implored Nadda and Thakur to expedite the process of providing financial assistance. “The disaster had resulted in losses over Rs 10,000 crore. Despite the assessment teams being sent by the central government, the interim relief was still pending,” he said, adding that the state government had been utilizing its limited resources to support the impacted population.

The Chief Minister said that by August 10, the state government had raised claims worth Rs 6,700 crore by sending a detailed report of the damages to the central government.

Centre concerned: Nadda

Himachal has suffered huge losses and the Centre is seriously concerned about the situation. Efforts are afoot by the administration to provide relief and take up restoration and rehabilitation works.

Total losses Rs 10k crore: Sukhu

We sent the damages amounting to Rs 6,700 crore to the Centre as per its relief manual by August 10. The second wave of disaster struck on August 13, and now the total losses would go beyond Rs 10,000 crore.

HRTC suffers Rs 45 cr loss: Dy CM

The Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC), having a fleet of 3,200 buses, had suffered over Rs 45 crore operational loss as bus services remained suspended during the rain-disaster period.

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