Monsoon caused 264 deaths, damages worth Rs 1,217 crores in HP: CM Jai Ram Thakur

As many as 264 people lost their lives in Himachal Pradesh during the monsoon season between July 1 and September 17, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said Tuesday.

Presiding over a meeting held here to review monsoon-related losses and damages, the CM said 199 of the 264 deaths took place in accidents on damaged roads.

As many as 33 incidents of cloud burst and 391 landslides took place in the state during the current monsoon season resulting in huge losses to property, he added.

Himachal suffered a total loss of Rs 1,217.29 crores due to excessive rains, flash floods and cloud burst incidents, Thakur said, adding that the state government would soon submit a memorandum of losses and damages to the Centre for financial aid.

Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department (HPPWD) incurred a loss of Rs 735 crore due to the rains in the form of damages to roads, bridges, breast walls and retaining walls, he added.

Thakur said although the maximum damage was caused by heavy rains, unplanned dumping of debris was also to blame.

He said it was important to ensure that the debris was disposed off at designated places in a planned manner. Effective cross drainage and side drainage facilities should be maintained to ensure a proper drainage system, he added.

The CM said the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department also suffered losses of Rs 328.78 crore. Several major, medium and minor drinking water supply and irrigation schemes were damaged due to landslides and heavy rains, he added.

The agriculture and horticulture sectors incurred losses worth Rs 88.81 crore, while the power sector suffered damages to the tune of Rs 24.50 crore, the CM said.

He said the state government had already provided Rs 229.64 crore for immediate restoration and repair works of damaged infrastructure.

One company of the NDRF was positioned at Nurpur in Kangra district, and the water level in major rivers was being being monitored regularly, Thakur said.

In a first, landslide sensors were installed at Kotrupi and Aut in Mandi district to avoid untoward incidents, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Manisha Nanda said a pilot testing of the Common Alert Protocol Platform developed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was conducted in the state recently.

Additional chief secretaries Dr. Shrikant Baldi and Anil Khachi, Principal Secretary Onkar Sharma, Additional Principal Secretary to the chief minister, Sanjay Kundu, Secretary (IPH) Devesh Kumar, Secretary (Education) Arun Kumar Sharma, Engineer-in-Chief (Irrigation and Public Health) Anil Bahri were present in the meeting.