Himachal rain losses: Virbhadra asks PM Rs 1,000 crore aid

The Himachal Pradesh government on Friday submitted details of its monsoon losses to prime minister Manmohan Singh and demanded a Rs 1,000 crore package as immediate relief to the disaster hit hill state .

Chief minister Virbhadra Singh told the prime minister in New Delhi that flash floods earlier this month had caused an estimated loss of Rs 2,575 crore to public and private property .

The loss was mainly in tribal Kinnaur district which received an unprecedented 1,229% more rainfall than normal in June.

Between June 15 and June 17 at least 24 people lost their lives in the district. Life is far from normal in Kinnaur with most roads blocked and power lines disrupted .

Virbhadra told the prime minister till date 1,239 people have been evacuated from Kinnaur including foreign nationals . The state government has released Rs 28 crore as immediate relief .

He said around 1,000 houses have been damaged . Also 2,120 roads have been badly affected by the heavy rains .

Around 50,000 hectares of agriculture  and horticulture land has been affected causing a loss of Rs 600 crore.

Virbhadra further told the prime minister the heavy rains had killed around 10,000 animals causing huge losses to farmers and shepherds .