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Union minister for national transport and highways Nitin Gadkari to visit Himachal on August 1
After the rain-triggered floods wreaked havoc, Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh will tour flood-ravaged national highways along with the Union minister
After the rain-triggered floods wreaked havoc, Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh will tour flood-ravaged national highways along with Union minister for national transport and highways Nitin Gadkari during his visit to Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday.
The chief minister will also be visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home minister Amit Shah in the coming two-three days. Himachal had sought an interim relief of ₹8,000 crore for the restoration of the flood-hit areas. So far, the government has assessed the total losses of more than ₹5,600 crore. Himachal had sought ₹2,000 crore as interim relief for the state.
A Central team visited the affected areas in the hill state to assess the damage and will submit its report, the chief minister said in a statement issued here. Sukhu said he will soon visit Delhi to apprise the Prime Minister and the Home minister of the losses suffered by the state due to heavy rains. At least 187 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents in Himachal Pradesh so far since the onset of the monsoon on June 24. At least 34 people are missing, according to official data. About 702 houses have been washed away in the rain, while 7,161 have been partially damaged, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre.
Chief minister Sukhu presided over the Public Works Department meeting to review the restoration of roads. He took several crucial decisions to address the aftermath of heavy rains and landslides in different parts of the state. The chief minister stressed the urgency of repairing and restoring damaged roads, particularly in the apple growing belts, to facilitate timely transportation of produce to markets.
Sukhu sanctioned a substantial amount of ₹23 crore for repair and restoration works. Among the allocations, ₹5 crore was earmarked for the Yashwant Nagar to Chhaila road, and an additional ₹1 crore each was provided to seven divisions in the apple-growing regions of Shimla. Likewise, the severely affected areas, including four blocks of Kullu district and Shillai and Rajgarh blocks of Sirmaur district, were granted ₹1 crore each for the PWD divisions.
The chief minister announced his plan to visit Chopal, Jubbal, and Kotkhai areas personally to assess the ongoing repair and restoration efforts. He directed PWD officers to expedite the process by acquiring necessary machinery and deploying it in the affected regions to clear debris, ensuring unhindered vehicular movement. The chief minister assured that there would be no shortage of funds for maintaining and repairing roads, emphasising that all restoration works would commence immediately.
In a bid to improve services, the chief minister advised PWD officers to initiate online booking of PWD rest houses with advance payment, a practice he recommended the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) department adopt as well.
In a significant step towards transparency and accountability, Sukhu announced the removal of clause 10 CC, aiming to put an end to the practice of escalating estimates for construction works.
