Himachal announces compensation for missing men's kin

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Friday announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs.4 lakh to the next of kin of five men -- including four tourists from Punjab -- missing after flash flood in a district village.

Compensation was also announced for locals whose houses were damaged in the flash flood on May 10 at Chewadi village in Shimla district, depending on the extent of their loss.

The chief minister on Friday visited the spot where the National Disaster Response Force is looking for the missing men and reviewed the ongoing operation, an official statement said.

Four tourists from Nawanshahr town in Punjab -- Saranpreet Singh, Harpreet Singh, Abanjot Singh and Aman -- and their guide Titu are missing after the flash flood.

"The chief minister met their family members at the disaster spot and assured them of all efforts to locate them," the statement said.

The tourists had come to the hill station for river rafting.

However, they along with their Scorpio jeep were swept away in the flash flood. Of the eight people on board, three were saved.

The vehicle was later recovered from the debris in Loti rivulet, a tributary of the Sutlej river, in Sunni tehsil, some 60 km from here, a day after the disaster.

--IANS

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