UP soon to give aid to Kedarnath flood victims' kin

About 1,150 people from the state either died or were missing in the natural calamity that hit Uttarakhand

The Uttar Pradesh government would soon disburse financial assistance to families of residents of the state who died in last year's flash floods in Uttarakhand, officials said Monday.

An official told IANS that 1,150 people from Uttar Pradesh who went on 'Char Dham Yatra' either died or were missing in the natural calamity in the hill state, especially in the Kedarnath Valley.

Of these, the Uttarakhand government has sent death certificates of 850 people to the UP government and now officials are working on the modalities of paying out ex-gratia amount of Rs.5.50 lakh to the next of kin of each victim as announced by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Officials said the chief minister personally monitored the donation collecting exercise, relief measures to the people of Uttarakhand and gave instructions for expediting the financial assistance process.

"Of the people whose death certificates have been received by the state government, paper work is underway...and very soon the schedule of the ex-gratia payments would be announced," said Special Secretary Rakesh Chandra.

After completion of formalities, 850 death certificates have been handed over to the UP government while 300 more are in the pipeline.

Hundreds died and thousands were left homeless in the June 16-17 flash floods in the Kedarnath Valley of Uttarakhand, the worst disaster in the state in decades.