Rajya Sabha debates Uttarakhand tragedy

The Uttarakhand tragedy came up for discussion in Rajya Sabha today with former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari (BJP) alleging that the state government had failed to take appropriate and timely measures.
Koshyari attacked the Congress government in the state led by Vijay Bahuguna, accusing it of neglecting MET department's warnings and not taking necessary actions which could have averted the heavy loss of lives.
"The incident happened on June 16 and 17. Before that the MET department had warned the state in advance of the impending danger. The state did not pay any heed," he said, adding around 10,000 people have either died or have gone missing as a fall out of the tragedy.

Koshyari also criticised Bahuguna for coming to Delhi on June 18 to congratulate a top party leader without paying attention to the ravaged state.
"Had the Chief Minister called the military on June 18, many precious lives could have been saved," he claimed.
The senior BJP leader said 3,000 devastated villages are to be connected and rehabilitated and there is a chance of them getting infested with Maoists if their problems are not addressed at the earliest.

He also demanded the tragedy to be declared as "National Disaster".
LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan also spoke on the tragedy, but he could not be properly heard in the din over Telangana issue.

Amid uproar, the House was adjourned till tomorrow.