CHANDIGARH: Himachal Pradesh has suffered a loss of Rs 700 crore so far due to the rain-related calamities and cloudburst, and 69 people have died, 110 have been injured, and 37 are still missing.Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the State government has decided to provide Rs 5,000 per month as house rent to affected families whose homes have been damaged. He also added that the concerned SDMs have been directed to provide food supplies to the affected people.Sukhu stated that he had a telephonic conversation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the extensive damage in the state and added that the minister has assured full support, and a central team would also be visiting the State to assess the situation. CM also said that heavy rainfall has caused extensive damage to homes and land in the Seraj and Dharampur areas of Mandi district. He said the key decisions were taken after discussions with Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani, Deputy Speaker Vinay Kumar and other MLAs. He also said that he would visit the affected areas again.He said that 14 cloudburst incidents have occurred in Mandi district this monsoon season alone, as a matter of concern. He said there was a need to study why such frequent cloudbursts were happening and that this issue was also raised with the Union Home Minister.The roads, electricity infrastructure and drinking water supply schemes have been severely impacted. He said that all cabinet ministers were conducting review meetings in their respective departments to assess the extent of the damage. Sukhu said that nearly 300 roads were currently blocked in the state, around 790 drinking water schemes have been damaged and 332 power transformers have been affected.In Mandi district alone, 402 people have been rescued as part of relief operations. He said that 92 students and teachers who were stranded at the Forestry and Horticulture in Thunag College have been safely evacuated. The NDRF and SDRF teams have reached several villages in Thunag and were actively engaged in relief and rehabilitation efforts. Responding to a question on NHAI projects in the State, Sukhu said that large companies were often awarded contracts based solely on their machinery, but they lack understanding of the fragile hill terrain of the state. “As a result, they conduct hill-cutting as per their convenience, which causes damage,’’ he said and advised NHAI to consider awarding such contracts to local contractors familiar with the region. Meanwhile, a state government spokesperson said that rescue and relief operations were underway on a war footing in Mandi district, which has been the worst affected. The state government was extending full support to the victims, with senior officers, administrative officials, and government machinery deployed to assist those in need.He added that 241 water supply schemes were damaged in the Thunag area, of which 66 have already been temporarily restored. As of now, 164 roads remain blocked in Mandi district. The PWD has deployed 31 JCBs and three poclain machines to restore roads in the affected areas of Seraj.Relief material was being delivered to villages such as Surah and others. In addition, rescue and relief efforts are in full swing in the villages of Rukchui, Bharad and Piyala Deji in Thunag sub-division, which were hit by a severe natural disaster. Despite challenging conditions, NDRF and district administration teams continue to work tirelessly on the ground. So far, 65 victims have been rescued from Thunag and provided with first aid and medical care.Relief supplies and essential services are also being delivered on a war footing in Dharampur.
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