50 feared dead in cloudburst-affected areas of Himachal: Vikramaditya Singh

Vikramaditya said that the topmost priority of the state government is to retrieve the bodies and restore connectivity

After the catastrophic cloudbursts hit different areas of Himachal Pradesh, including Samej, state minister Vikramaditya Singh on Saturday said that around 50 people are feared dead in the affected areas and official number can only be declared after official confirmation and completion of rescue operations.

Singh also said that the topmost priority of the state government is to retrieve the bodies and restore connectivity in the affected areas of the state as soon as possible.

Speaking with ANI, Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh said, "The main priority of the government is to retrieve the bodies from the site, as the catchment area of the destruction spot is huge. Apart from it, Government is making all efforts to restore the connectivity in affected areas as soon as possible. It is being feared that around 50 deaths have taken place, but it can only be officially confirmed after the rescue operations."

He further informed that the government has announced Rs 50,000 as an immediate relief to the affected families and in future, more compensation will be provided to them.

"Chief Minister Sukhu has also spoken to Home Minister Amit Shah regarding this. We should get support from the Centre too, and we are demanding the same from the Government...As an immediate relief, CM has announced Rs 50,000 for all affected families. In the time to come, they will provide help for repair too," said Singh.

Furthermore, he conveyed that from NDRF to SDRF, Police and Home Guard personnel, everybody is involved in the rescue operations together.

Himachal Pradesh Minister Vikramaditya Singh said, "A cloudburst occurred 2-3 days back over the Shrikhand mountain top. Due to this, areas in Rampur and Kullu have faced massive destruction. CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu also visited the area. He took stock of the situation and briefed the officials. We have started setting up Bailey bridges at various locations. Police personnel are being deployed at various places. Administration is coordinating with everyone. NDRF, SDRF, State Police, Home Guard jawans are carrying out rescue operations together."

Earlier in the day, the Indian Army launched extensive Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations to aid the affected communities in Himachal Pradesh's Samej village.

According to the Indian Army, the road to the incident site was blocked due to a land shift approximately 2.5 kilometres short of the incident site, after which troops moved on foot beyond the blockade.

The Army's Engineer Task Force (ETF) repaired the road and made it operational on Friday itself.

The equipment was temporarily stuck at the blockade site but reached the incident site later, after the road was repaired.

On Friday, the Army also completed the construction of the improvised footbridge, thus facilitating the move of rescue teams towards the far bank of the river and the rescue of civilians stranded on the far bank.