PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara has said that the sum of Rs 5,700 crore sought by the Pushkar Singh Dhami government for reconstruction and rehabilitation works necessitated by the recent natural disasters is grossly inadequate. He said that a sum of Rs 6,000 crore is needed only for reconstruction in Jyotirmath.
Mahara said that he had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which demand for a relief package of Rs 10,000 crore was made for the State. He said that in view of the seriousness of the disaster, the above mentioned amount too is not enough. He said that there are many disaster affected areas in the State where the people are still waiting for relief.
He said that 35 houses were damaged in Bahuguna village of Karnprayag but the affected families have not received any relief yet.
The PCC president said that instead of sending teams for assessing the losses in disaster affected areas, the centre and State should send scientists, geologists and experts. The team of experts can present a concrete preventive plan for the State after assessing the disaster.
In the letter to the PM, the PCC president said that the disaster has caused a huge loss to life and property in all the mountainous districts of the State.
He said that the disaster has struck Dharali in Uttarkashi, Tharali in Chamoli , Kapkot in Bageshwar, Dharchula in Pithoragarh, Thalisain in Pauri and has disrupted the life of the people.
In the letter, Mahara also accused the Disaster Management department of the State of negligence and claimed that the warnings of the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) were ignored. He said that the number of missing and seriously injured people in the disasters caused by heavy rains and cloudbursts in various districts has not been accurately assessed yet.
