Robust measures taken for disaster rehabilitation: Sukhu

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Saturday that over 22,000 disaster affected families have received assistance for rehabilitation under the state government’s ₹4,500-crore special relief package. He said that 2,968 families have received the first instalment of ₹3 lakh for completely damaged houses and the remaining ₹ 4 lakh would be provided soon.
“The increased assistance has been released as per the revised norms,” stated the Chief Minister.
He added that more than 10,000 families have been provided assistance to repair partially damaged houses and 3,648 beneficiaries have received the aid to repair damaged gaushalas. Around 1,800 families have been compensated for the loss of livestock, the chief minister said.
Sukhu added that the state government has also extended assistance to the farmers for crop loss and damages to land, benefitting around 2,600. Owners of damaged 507 shops and dhabas have also been compensated, he said.
“During the last monsoon season, Himachal Pradesh witnessed one of its worst-ever disaster, triggered by unprecedented rainfall. The people put a brave face to overcome the challenging situation and started rebuilding, showcasing the best example of a unyielding willpower. The state government did it best to provide succour to the affected families and announced a special relief package of ₹4,500 crore despite having limited financial resources as not even a single penny was provided by the Union government,” the chief minister said.