Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Congress National Secretary Priyanka Gandhi toured disaster-affected areas in Himachal’s Kullu district on Tuesday and inspected the damage caused by heavy rainfall, including the Sainj Bridge and Aloo Ground in Manali. The two leaders also interacted with residents as they took stock of the damages that occurred across the state.
Speaking to journalists in Manali, Priyanka Gandhi said that the people of Himachal Pradesh have “bravely faced the disaster” and lauded Chief Minister Sukhu, as well as ministers and MLAs for staying on the ground and providing the people with assistance. She said, “The state’s people are contributing their labour and providing economic assistance and have set an example for the entire country.” “The state government is making efforts to help the affected families with its resources,” Gandhi added, “but it will be difficult to bring Himachal Pradesh back on track without the help of the Central government. The Centre should declare this tragedy a national disaster and provide the state with generous assistance.” She also disapproved of the decision to reduce tariffs on apples, especially Washington apples, due to heavy rainfall.
This, she said, had caused great losses to apple farmers. Since the state has already suffered due to the disaster, she urged the Centre to “think about the interests” of Himachal’s apple growers. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G 20 summit dinner on Saturday, where they discussed the situation in the state. Sukhu said that the state government had sent claims of Rs 8,000 crore to the Centre before 10 August, However, between 10 and 14 August, heavy rains have caused significant damage to life and property in the state. So far, over Rs 12,000 crore in losses have been incurred, the Chief Minister said. He said that due to heavy rains in the state, people who have been displaced from their homes and are staying in relief camps will be provided residential facilities by the state government.