Dharamshala, Nov. 11 -- Providing significant relief to disaster-affected families, chief minister (CM) Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday distributed Rs. 81.28 crore to 4,914 beneficiaries through direct benefit transfer (DBT) during a function held at Paddal Ground, Mandi. A total of 1,513 beneficiaries whose houses were completely damaged received the first installment of Rs.4 lakh each out of Rs.7 lakh. Among them, 781 beneficiaries are from Mandi district, 631 from Kullu and 101 from Bilaspur. Additionally, 3,401 beneficiaries whose houses were partially damaged received Rs.1 lakh each, including 1,547 from Mandi, 1,541 from Kullu and 313 from Bilaspur District. So far, Rs.14.46 crore in relief assistance has already been distributed to 4,375 affected families in Mandi district. The state government is currently implementing 27 disaster mitigation projects in Mandi with a total outlay of Rs.72 crore. Furthermore, the State Executive Committee has approved five more projects estimated at Rs.18.84 crore, while proposals for seven additional mitigation projects are being prepared. During the event, the Chief Minister presented a cheque of Rs.7.95 lakh to Nikita, a young girl who lost her parents in the floods at Panglyur in the Seraj Assembly constituency. He also announced an additional financial assistance of Rs.21 lakh for her. He said that daughters like Nikita are not alone anymore and the state government stands with them. CM Sukhu while addressing a gathering at Paddal Ground at Mandi on Monday, announced that the financial assistance for those who lost their belongings during natural disasters would be raised from Rs.70,000 to Rs.1 lakh. Despite limited resources, the state government was steadfastly moving toward making Himachal Pradesh a self-reliant state. He stressed that "Atmanirbhar Himachal" was not a political slogan but the passion and commitment of his government. The state had adopted 6,000 orphan children as "Children of the State" and was providing financial assistance for the higher education of widow's children. He added that government was making every possible effort to assist disaster-affected families from its limited resources in view of the widespread destruction this year....