Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday donated all of his life savings of around ₹51 lakh to the ‘Aapda Rahat Kosh’, known as the Disaster Relief Fund, to extend help to the disaster-affected people of the state. Sukhu also gave away his one-year salary and contributed ₹11 lakh towards the state relief fund.
Also read: Priyanka Gandhi writes to PM, calls for declaring Himachal calamity as 'national disaster'
In a video posted by news agency ANI, Sukhu and his wife Kamlesh Thakur can be seen presenting a cheque of ₹51 lakh to state chief secretary Prabodh Saxena.
Speaking to the media, Sukhu said, “I could well understand the pain of the people and their plight during the recent monsoon fury in the state in which more than 260 precious lives were lost.”
“Every section of the society had voluntarily contributed towards the relief fund. Elders parted away with their pensions to help those in distress, children broke their piggy banks and the state government employees contributed generously from their salaries to contribute towards the 'Aapda Rahat Kosh',” he added.
Also read: After lull, rain returns to Himachal Pradesh from September 14-16
{{/usCountry}}“Every section of the society had voluntarily contributed towards the relief fund. Elders parted away with their pensions to help those in distress, children broke their piggy banks and the state government employees contributed generously from their salaries to contribute towards the 'Aapda Rahat Kosh',” he added.
Also read: After lull, rain returns to Himachal Pradesh from September 14-16
{{/usCountry}}He also said the people of the hilly state have “stood together to face the catastrophe".
Himachal suffered loss of over ₹8,000 crore; over 400 dead
Himachal Pradesh suffered one of the worst losses due to the flash floods and landslides during this monsoon. According to the chief minister, there has been a loss of ₹8,600 crore and it may go up to ₹12,000 crore. He has also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the calamity a national disaster.
As many as 165 landslides and 72 flash floods were reported in the hilly state in the past few months leading to around 426 deaths in Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, and Solan districts. Meanwhile, 39 people are still reported to be missing. More than 2,575 houses have been fully damaged and 11,000 partially.
(With inputs from agencies)