Shimla, July 12 -- Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses worth nearly Rs.800 crore due to monsoon-triggered devastation since June 20 this year and the damages are increasing by the day, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Friday. After returning from a tour of disaster-affected areas in Mandi district, the chief minister said a special disaster relief package was still awaited from the central government. As per the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), 91 people have died and 34 are missing in the state owing to monsoon-related incidents. Of these, Mandi, which is the epicentre of disaster, has reported 15 deaths and 27 missing people. Addressing reporters after chairing a high-level meeting with the revenue department in Shimla, the chief minister urged the BJP members of Parliament (MPs) from Himachal Pradesh to seek central support for the disaster-hit state. "We have not yet received any special relief package from the Centre for this year's disaster. I will go to Delhi and request the Prime Minister and other leaders to help us. The BJP has four Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha MPs from Himachal. I request them to support us in securing central aid," said Sukhu. He said the annual disaster management grant, released to all states in two instalments, was being wrongly projected by the BJP as special assistance. "The July instalment under the Disaster Response Fund is routine and was released as scheduled. No additional grant has been approved yet for the current crisis," he clarified. Sukhu said, "We are not visiting disaster-hit regions for political mileage. I went to Mandi because I heard about food shortages in some areas. I visited homes personally and ensured that ration was delivered by helicopter on the very first day." "Soon after receiving inputs, our Cabinet held a meeting and deployed ministers to assess the damage. PWD minister Vikramaditya Singh supervised the opening of roads and restoration of drinking water. Nearly 200 JCB machines have been deployed," the CM said. He announced that roads in flood-hit areas had been opened up on a priority basis, but added that full restoration will take time and funds. "Today, we approved Rs.5 lakh offline tenders for emergency repair works in affected areas so that projects are not delayed due to online procedural bottlenecks," he said. He also said his government was drafting a law to regulate construction in climate-sensitive zones, including riverbanks and areas prone to cloudbursts. "Most houses were built decades ago when there were no extreme weather events or cloudbursts. Times have changed. We are preparing legislation to prohibit construction within 10 to 50 metres of riverbanks," Sukhu added. The chief minister said a comprehensive disaster relief package was being prepared for Cabinet approval. "I've directed the revenue minister to present the draft of the relief package in the next Cabinet meeting. We will compensate for the loss of livestock, homes, utensils and agricultural land," Sukhu announced. "Even if someone has lost their livelihood, we will help. We are not here to blame anyone. We will work together to restore normalcy," he added. Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and leader of Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur on Friday visited the disaster-hit areas of Bada, Kunah and Talwara in Seraj area of Mandi, and met the affected families. During the visit, he also met 10-month-old Nitika, whose parents and grandmother were swept away in a cloudburst on July 1. Thakur said the disaster had not only robbed people of their loved ones and hard-earned property, but also their sources of livelihood. Referring to the situation in his constituency, the MLA said even after 12 days since the disaster struck, over 30,000 people in Seraj constituency were still without drinking water. "More than 25,000 people are without electricity. Roads have not been restored in many areas. In most places, only small vehicles can pass through. In Seraj alone, over 600 houses have been completely destroyed, while more than 1,000 are partially damaged and unsafe for habitation," he said....