Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a financial assistance of Rs 1500 crore for Himachal Pradesh. This came after the Prime Minister took stock of the flood and landslides situation in Himachal and reached Kangra after conducting an aerial survey of disaster-hit Mandi and Kullu districts.
PM Modi along with the governor, CM and senior officials of the state government watched a presentation on the prevailing situation in Himachal Pradesh after cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains wreaked havoc in the state, and he was briefed about the same.
At Kangra, the prime minister was welcomed by Governor Shiv Pratab Shukla, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri.
After the aerial survey, PM Modi posted on X, "Undertook an aerial survey to assess the situation in the wake of flooding and landslides in Himachal Pradesh. We stand firmly with the people in this difficult time and all efforts are being made to ensure continuous support to those affected."
An official press release stated that there will be an advance release of the second instalment of SDRF and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi as well.
PM Modi asked for a multi-dimensional view to be taken to get the entire region and people back on its feet. These would be done through multiple ways, like rebuilding homes through PM Awas Yojana, restoration of national highways, rebuilding schools, provision of relief under PMNRF along with release of mini kits for livestock.
Recognizing the critical need to support the agricultural community, additional assistance will be provided specifically targeted at farmers who currently lack power connections, the official release said.
Under the PM Awas Yojana, geotagging of damaged houses will be done. This will help in accurate damage assessment and faster delivery of aid to those affected, the release added.
It also said that to ensure uninterrupted education, schools will be able to report and geotag damages, enabling timely assistance under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. And the construction of recharge structures for water harvesting to help collect and store rainwater will be done to improve groundwater levels and support better water management.
The official release informed that the Union Government has already sent inter-ministerial teams to visit the state to assess the extent of damage, and based on their detailed report further assistance will be considered.
Himachal has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 4,122 crore due to cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides triggered by heavy rains from June 20 to September 8 and 370 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents in the state, according to the state emergency operation centre (SEOC).
Out of the 370 fatalities, 205 were due to rain-related incidents, which include 43 deaths from landslides, 17 from cloudbursts, and nine from flash floods. Additionally, 41 people are still reported missing, while road accidents have accounted for 165 deaths.
As of Tuesday morning, 619 roads, including four national highways, were closed in the state and 1748 power transformers and 461 water supply schemes were disrupted.
The monsoon has caused significant damage, with a total of 6,344 houses, 461 shops and factories being fully or partially affected, besides massive damage to government and private lands.
(With agency inputs)
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