Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visits disaster-affected families in Dharmapur, assures full support

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today visited the disaster-hit Syathi village of Laungani Panchayat in Dharampur, Mandi where he met and interacted with the families affected by the recent cloudbursts, listened to the woes of the victims, shared their grief and reviewed the relief and rehabilitation operations being carried out by the district administration.

As many as 61 people have been affected by the cloudburst, which caused significant damage to homes, cowsheds and livestock. The district administration has provided immediate assistance of Rs. 1.70 lakh as financial aid, ration, tarpaulins and other relief material.

Speaking with the affected families, the Chief Minister said that the Government stands firmly with all the affected and assured of all possible  assistance. He directed the administration to ensure the best possible arrangements for the affected. 

A special relief package will be given to help rebuild damaged houses and enhanced compensation will also be provided for loss of livestock, including cows, goats and sheep, as well as for destroyed cowsheds, the Chief Minister assured. Recalling the frightening incident, the villagers narrated their sorrows and told that the entire village was swept away all of sudden and they even do not have a place of land left to pitch tents for shelter. 

Many of us narrowly escaped death and were eyewitness to the horrifying incident. “I assure that if the government land was available nearby it will surely be allotted to those who lost their homes and in case the land nearby falls under forests, the matter will be taken up with the Union Government”, remarked the Chief Minister. 

He also inspected the damage caused to the Mandi-Kotli road. Speaking informally to the media, the Chief Minister said that widespread havoc had been caused due to torrential rain in Mandi district recently. 

I was informed that 20 houses were damaged completely in Syathi village  and 61 persons were safely evacuated who were sheltered in relief camps, said Sh. Sukhu. There was a need of in-depth study to ascertain the reasons of landslides even at places having solid strata, he said. 

Never before it has been seen around 8-10 cloudburst occurring in a single night, he said, adding that there was a need that both Central and State Governments should collectively study the cause of such incidents. He said that Thunag, Janjehli and Bagsiad areas of Mandi district has also suffered heavy losses due to widespread rains. 

Efforts were afoot to restore the essential services in the affected areas and restore the roads. As per detail 10 people have lost their lives, while 34 others were missing in Mandi district. The casualties include five deaths in Gohar sub-division, three in Thunag, and one each in Jogindernagar and Karsog. 

The identification of the deceased was being done by the administration. MLA Dharampur Chander Shekhar thanked the Chief Minister for his visit to the disaster-affected areas within no time and to share the grief of the people and be with them in this hours of distress, besides giving directions to provide immediate relief to those affected by the nature fury.

Chairman of Kangra Central Cooperative Bank Kuldeep Singh Pathania, Congress leader Pawan Thakur, Deputy Commissioner Mandi Apoorv Devgan, SP Mandi and other senior administrative officers were also present on the occasion.