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Himachal CM announces ₹7-crore relief for disaster-affected Seraj
Sukhu held a meeting evening with Jai Ram on Wednesday evening at the Thunag Rest House to review the damage and progress of relief and rescue operations in the Seraj region
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu during his two-day visit to the disaster-affected areas of Mandi asked the officials to coordinate closely with leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur to accelerate relief efforts in Seraj area of district.
Sukhu held a meeting evening with Jai Ram on Wednesday evening at the Thunag Rest House to review the damage and progress of relief and rescue operations in the Seraj region. Sukhu and Jai Ram also discussed the issue of resettlement of families who have lost their land in the devastation.
He also announced an immediate relief amount of ₹7 crore for the disaster affected areas on Thusday. While ₹2 crore has already been released and an additional ₹2 crore each would be given to the Public Works Department and the Jal Shakti Department, and ₹1 crore would be provided to the block development office to expedite restoration work.
Sukhu also visited Thunag, Bagsiad, Deji, Bara and Sainj villages and reviewed the damage caused by recent cloudbursts and assured the victims of all possible support from the state government. In Deji village, 11 people are still missing due to a cloudburst, while two deaths have been reported from Bara and four deaths in Sainj village, with five missing.
He also visited disaster-affected villages of Baga, Sainj and Panglyur in Nachan assembly constituency of Mandi district. The CM reviewed the extent of destruction in these villages and enquired about the loss of life and property.
CM Sukhu also interacted with the people at Pakhrar panchayat ghar and listened to their woes and directed the revenue officers to immediately assess all kinds of losses. He instructed that residential complexes that were still filled with silt or rocks or those deemed unsafe for living should be declared completely damaged so that maximum compensation could be provided to the people. He also assured that the government would compensate for damaged household goods and livestock as well.
Relief package soon
Sukhu gave special instructions to assess losses suffered by horticulturists and apple growers. The state cabinet will soon discuss and announce a special relief package for all those who have been affected due to this disaster. He said that this disaster was massive and rehabilitation would take time and the government would fully support the people.
While in Bara, the CM said that the government was considering bringing a one-time settlement policy for resettling disaster-affected families. Since 68% of land in Himachal Pradesh was forest land, permission from the central government would be sought for rehabilitating the people on forest land.
Sukhu asks admin to identify land for temp settlement
CM Sukhu has also directed the Mandi administration to identify safe locations for temporary resettlement of affected families, where prefabricated structures can be installed to provide immediate shelter.
Jai Ram visits damaged ancestral home in Seraj
Former CM Jai Ram on Thursday visited his ancestral house in Seraj’s Tandi village.
The house has been damaged due to the disaster and cracks have also appeared in his brother’s house next to it.
“A small apple orchard belonging to the family of the former CM has also been washed away. It is more of an emotional loss for him,” said his team member.
