Rain-hit Uttarakhand seeks Rs 800-crore relief

The Uttarakhand government has sought a relief package of Rs 800 crore in the wake of a series of natural disasters caused by heavy rains that has wreaked havoc in the hill state.

“We have already sent an official memorandum to the Centre for a relief package of Rs 800 crore,” a top government official said on Thursday. The state has already got an interim relief of Rs 150 crore.

Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna is expecting Congress President Sonia Gandhi to visit the affected areas and make a suitable recommendation for the financial package to the state. The Centre is likely to take a decision on the relief package only after the October 10 Tehri parliamentary by-election, the official said.

MONSOON BLUES

• Series of natural disasters caused by heavy monsoon rains wreak havoc in Uttarakhand
• Nearly 150 people killed and hundreds more rendered homeless
• Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag districts bear brunt of disasters
• Centre gives it Rs 150 crore interim package, state asks for Rs 800 crore relief package
• Centre likely to take call on relief package only after October 10 Tehri parliamentary by-election
• During the past three years, over 400-500 people have died due to heavy monsoon rains in the state
• Experts say state's rescue machinery usually lacks speed due to remote and inaccessible areas where calamities are common

Heavy rains during the monsoon season brought death and destruction in the hill state. Nearly 150 people were killed and hundreds more rendered homeless, as homes and villages were flattened by cloudbursts coupled with heavy landslides.

Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag districts bore the brunt of the disasters.

Hundreds of people have taken refuge in camps at Rudraprayag, while others are recuperating from injuries in hospitals. Besides the heavy loss of life, the rains also destroyed roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

In 2010, over 200 people were killed in such disasters for which then Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had sought a package of Rs 21,000 crore. But the centre only provided Rs 500 crore to the state.

During the past three years, more than 400-500 people have died due to heavy monsoon rains in the state’s fragile Himalayan ecology.

But despite the enormity of such disasters, there are still no long-term plans to counter them. “We cannot do much since it is very difficult to predict the exact location of cloudbursts or landslides,” said a top government official.

The state’s rescue machinery usually lacks speed, apparently due to remote and inaccessible areas where such calamities are common, say experts.