NEW DELHI, Sept 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took stock of the flood and landslides situation in Himachal Pradesh and reached Kangra after conducting an aerial survey of disaster-hit Mandi and Kullu districts.
The Prime Minister was welcomed by Governor Shiv Pratab Shukla, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri. Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, State BJP chief Rajiv Bindal and other BJP legislators were also present at the Gaggal airport. PM Modi announced a financial assistance of ₹1,500 crore for Himachal Pradesh. There will be advance release of the second instalment of SDRF and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.
The Prime Minister 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.
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. To ensure uninterrupted education, schools will be able to report and geotag damages, enabling timely assistance under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. Construction of recharge structures for water harvesting to help collect and store rainwater will be done. These efforts will improve groundwater levels and support better water management.
The Union Government has already sent Inter-Ministerial Central teams to visit Himachal Pradesh to assess the extent of damage, and based on their detailed report further assistance will be considered. Himachal Pradesh, which is recovering from the floods, has been granted ₹5 crore each by the BJP-ruled States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh along with several trucks piled with food and relief materials.
Apart from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab has also been provided with grants worth ₹5 crore each by the BJP-ruled States of Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, and Haryana, along with several truckloads of food and other relief supplies for the affected people. As per the tentative schedule, the Chief Minister and officers would brief Mr Modi about the monsoon disaster during a meeting. The BJP leaders would also apprise the Prime Minister of the current situation in the State.
Himachal Pradesh suffered losses to the tune of ₹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.
Ahead of Mr Modi’s visit to Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhu had said he would urge the prime minister to grant relaxation in the Forest Conservation Act to facilitate grant of forest land to people who have been rendered landless due to the monsoon disaster. In a post on X, hours before the arrival of the Prime Minister, he said the State was suffering the pain of losing loved ones, villages being buried under debris and extensive damage to roads and electricity supply.
The Chief Minister said he would urge Mr Modi to initiate discussions on formulation of a strategy for sustainable development in hill states and also raise a question before the Prime Minister that whether the development model being followed in hill states was sustainable and how the mountains could be saved from adverse impact of climate change.
(Manas Dasgupta)