Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district witnessed a massive landslide near Chaukar village in the Nauhradhar area on Saturday, when a large section of the hill gave way, stretching nearly 200 metres.
Five people were present at the site during the incident and are safe, news agency PTI reported. However, five houses now lie in the danger zone, and the region has suffered heavy damage from the monsoon.
The visuals show the landslide sweeping away trees and green vegetation in its path, while people can be heard raising alarms, likely to warn others about the incident.
One person is heard saying, “Chaukar mein hua landslide, badi durghanta ghatne se bachi hai abhi (A landslide has occurred in Chaukar; a major disaster has just been narrowly avoided)”. Even boulders can be seen tumbling down the slope.
The Himachal Pradesh government has sought the Centre’s approval to allot one bigha of forest land to each family affected by the recent rains, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Friday.
He also announced the cancellation of all examinations in view of adverse weather and road conditions.
{{/usCountry}}He also announced the cancellation of all examinations in view of adverse weather and road conditions.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking to reporters in Kullu during a visit to disaster-hit areas, Sukhu described this year’s monsoon as “causing widespread devastation, leading to heavy loss of lives and properties.”
“The state government is extending assistance from its own limited resources, as no support has been received from the Central government so far,” he said.
The chief minister added that the state has prepared a ₹3,000-crore project to seek World Bank assistance for disaster management and rehabilitation of affected families.
Since the monsoon arrived on June 20, the hill state has suffered losses exceeding ₹3,690 crore. Officials said the Public Works Department accounted for ₹2,252 crore, while the Jal Shakti Department reported ₹1,147 crore in damages.
To speed up reconstruction, chief minister has that deputy commissioners have been empowered to approve new works under MGNREGA without waiting for gram sabha approval.
Ex post facto clearance from the gram sabha, panchayat samiti, and zila parishad would be obtained later, he added.
Moreover, deputy commissioners can now sanction all types of works, including land development projects, removing the previous limit of 20 works per gram panchayat.
The financial ceiling for individual land development projects has also been raised from ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh.
With PTI inputs