Cloudburst Catastrophe: Congress demands fast damage assessment, compensation
Sunday, 21 August 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
Congress leaders led by the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara visited the areas affected by cloud burst triggered flash floods in Dehradun district on Saturday. The Congress leaders visited Maldevta Jhol, Kumalda, Sherki, PPCL and Sarkhet villages of Dehradun on the day and met the affected people. They also went to the Sodha Bridge located on the Raipur- Airport road which was damaged by the flash flood in the Song River. Mahara said that hundreds of acres of land has been submerged in water and four houses collapsed in the floods. He said that many people are reported missing and so far five persons have lost their lives. Expressing sorrow at the deaths, the PCC president said that the state government should provide adequate compensation to the affected people and shift them to safer locations.
Expressing anguish on the collapse of the Sodha Bridge, Mahara said that the bridge is new but even then it got damaged. He said that the corrupt collusion between the officers and the contractors is responsible for increasing cases of such calamities. The PCC president said that last year the bridge connecting Rishikesh got damaged due to flood but the State government took no lesson from this. He claimed that the disaster affected people are not receiving the necessary help due to the negligence and apathy of the administration. The PCC president said that the disaster could have been averted had the State government acted early. He said that the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami should direct the district administration to make an early and correct assessment of the damage to life and property so that the affected families are compensated adequately.
