HP suffers loss of Rs 567.32 cr due to rains

Shimla, Aug 17 (PTI) Heavy rains in some parts of HimachalPradesh during the current monsoon have caused massive damageto crops and property and the loss till date has been peggedat Rs 567.32 crore, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said today. Presiding over a review meeting to assess the loss anddamage due to heavy rains, Singh directed the concernedauthorities to immediately restore the link roads and bridgesin interior areas and ensure that vehicular movement was nothampered due to road blockades in the apple belt. He directed that adequate money should be provided to finda permanent solution to landslides on Kiratpur-Manali NationalHighway near Hanogi and keep the road open during monsoons. The Roads and Bridges suffered maximum damage and the losswas pegged at Rs 396 crore, followed by Irrigation and PublicHealth Rs 99 crore, State Electricity Board Rs 70 crore,community and government assets Rs 3.17 crore, Agriculture andHorticulture departments Rs 4.29 crore and Rs 15.86 crore. It was informed at the meeting that all the irrigation anddrinking water supply schemes had been restored temporarilyand work to repair them permanently was underway. A sum of Rs 106.40 crore had been distributed to alldistricts and line departments to immediately take up reliefmeasures and provide succour to the people who have sufferedlosses. Additional Chief Secretary, PWD, Narinder Chauhan briefedthat all the roads blocked due to landslides were restoredwithin hours. As many as 166 roads and three bridges were washed away,1426 rural water supply schemes, 580 irrigation schemes, 30urban water supply schemes, 15 flood protection works and 16sewerage schemes were affected and all were temporarilyrestored. A total of 146 structures were fully damaged, 547 Kuchhaand Pucca houses, 12 cowsheds, 20 Water mills (Gharats) and 20 shops were also damaged and the loss was estimated at Rs8.19 crore. The rain deficit was 17 per cent from June 1 to August 17,2016 against 11 per cent on the same day last year. The rain related incidents have claimed 29 lives so far.PTI PCL MRJ RGMRJ