Shimla, Aug. 30 -- Even as the government on Saturday has stepped up its efforts to save lives of thousands of pilgrims stranded at Bharmour and other parts of Chamba after relentless rains and landslides, reports reaching Shimla said over 5,000 pilgrims still await evacuation and safe return from the disaster-hit Chamba district, bordering the Kishtwar and Doda areas of Jammu and Kashmir. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who reached Pathankot during the day and flew to Chamba and reviewed the situation with top officials, said the scale of the destruction as a result of natural calamities and monsoon disasters is much higher than the 2023 incidents. However, due to the preemptive measures of the state government, loss of human lives was comparatively less than the devastation that occurred in the year 2023. The roads, electricity and water supply, and the communication services were badly hit as compared to 2023, he said
He also conducted the aerial survey of Bharmour, Manimahesh and other disaster-affected areas of Chamba district, besides Fatehpur and Mand area of Indora in Kangra district, following excess water release from Pong Dam. He took off from Pathankot Air Force Station towards Bharmour, but due to adverse weather conditions, his helicopter could not land there. Sukhu said this year, the entire state has been hit by the destruction attributed to incessant rains, landslides, and cloud bursts. He said, "The rehabilitation was a challenge before the state government, but with the support of the people of the state, we will overcome it courageously. It is our responsibility to rehabilitate the families who have been rendered homeless and lost all means of livelihood, and we will offer special relief package to support them." Sukhu informed that Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, and Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh are reviewing the situation on the ground.
The government was committed to providing relief to the disaster-affected people and to evacuating those who were stranded midway due to the roads that were washed out in floods en route to Chamba and Bharmour at various places. He stated, "Revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi has travelled on foot from Chamba to Bharmour." This demonstrates that the present state government has adopted a humanitarian approach and is sensitively dealing with the crisis. The Chief Minister said that the state government was vigorously working to restore road connectivity, as JCBs and other heavy machinery have been deployed in the district. The district administration has been directed to restore road connectivity as soon as possible, but the weather is posing a challenge to the relief and restoration works. He said that the evacuation of those stranded in the Bharmour area was also dependent on favourable weather, although helicopters have been deployed for this purpose. He stressed conducting the study to know the reasons behind the frequent occurrence of cloudbursts in the state. He said that global warming and climate change are posing a bigger challenge, causing extensive destruction; therefore, we must dig deep to tackle this problem effectively and save valuable lives.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.