E-Paper
People of Himachal boldly faced disaster: CM Sukhu
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the people of Himachal stood firm in face of the disaster of the decade, adding that awareness was necessary to deal effectively with disasters
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday flagged off the “Citizen Solidarity March” organised by the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) to mark International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction from Oak Over. The march concluded at the Ridge.
Sukhu said that the people of Himachal stood firm in face of the disaster of the decade, adding that awareness was necessary to deal effectively with disasters.
He thanked the people for coming forward and donating generously towards disaster relief fund, saying that about ₹222 crore had been received in the fund.
I have never seen such a calamity in which more than 500 people died, more than 16,000 houses were damaged and property worth more than ₹12,000 crore was damaged, he said.
‘Important to study increasing cloudbursts’
Sukhu honoured the officers and departments that did a commendable job during the disasters and played an important role in relief and rescue operations. He was presiding over a function organised by the SDMA .
On the changing weather pattern, the chief minister said that it has been noticed that the incidents of cloudbursts have increased in the past few years, and we need to study and research the varying climatic patterns and take adaptive measures in advance to mitigate the impact of such incidents.
He lauded the efforts of SDMA for organising an annual awareness campaign on disaster risk reduction, Samarth, 2023, to create awareness online through digital modes, build capacities towards promoting disaster resilience in the State.
Lauding the efforts of officers and employees, he said that due to the collective efforts of the district administrations, 75,000 people were evacuated safely and all essential services were temporarily restored within 48 hours after the disaster.
The CM launched the school safety mobile app which will be quite for the schools to make disaster management plans and organise mock drills.
The CM gave suggestions on the safe construction practices in Himachal Pradesh and launched educational material related to this .
As the state is already reeling under the debt of ₹75,000 crore, the government was making earnest efforts to bring the state back on track and was adopting innovative measures to raise its finances so as to provide relief to the disaster affected, reiterated the CM.
He said that despite the states share, nothing has been received from the centre in name of financial assistance.
