Himachal rain disaster: Jai Ram Thakur meets Modi, seeks area-specific assistance

Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi today and sought a special area-specific relief package for the disaster-affected regions.

Thakur apprised the Prime Minister about the damage caused in Himachal and sought an area-specific relief package for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the disaster-hit regions. He also sought relaxation in the Forest Conservation Act so that land could be provided for the rehabilitation of those who were rendered homeless in cloudbursts and flashfloods on June 30.

Thakur said that on the night of June 30, a total of 42 people had lost their lives in Seraj, Karsog and Nachan in Mandi district, causing a loss of more than Rs 1,000 crore. The Prime Minister assured him of all possible support in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the disaster-affected areas, he added.

“I informed the Prime Minister that in this disaster, not only people’s houses but also their land was washed away and now they have no land to build houses. In such a situation, concessions should be made in the Forest Conservation Act so that forestland can be provided to them for the construction of houses at safe places,” he added.

Thakur said that he had also urged the Prime Minister to give an area-specific relief package for rehabilitation and reconstruction and study the causes of recurring natural disasters in the state so that repeated losses could be avoided.

He added that due to the disaster, the state had suffered a loss of more than Rs 1,200 crore, including Rs 1,000 crore in the Seraj Assembly segment alone on the night of June 30.