Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], September 16 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday mourned the death of three persons in a landslide triggered due to heavy rains at Nihri in Mandi district last night, said an official release.

The Chief Minister said that the state government stands in solidarity with aggrieved families in this hour of grief and directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the next of kin of the deceased.

He prayed to the almighty to grant peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved family members to bear this irreparable loss.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister took stock of the situation from the Deputy Commissioners of affected areas and directed them to take necessary and immediate actions to mitigate the impact.

Chief Minister Sukhu emphasised the need to shift the people living in unsafe buildings to secure locations to avert any untoward incident and ensure their safety. He directed to restore the damaged roads and water supply schemes in the affected areas on priority so that people do not face any inconvenience. He said that essential commodities must also be made available in the affected areas. He also asked the administrative officers to provide timely help to the people in distress and support them.

While interacting with media in the Secretariat, Shimla, the Chief Minister said that Central Ministers were visiting the affected areas of the State merely to gain political mileage, but they should also announce relief packages from their respective Ministries.

He said that BJP leaders should urge the Prime Minister to release a special financial package for the State at the earliest so that affected families could be provided financial assistance in time. He said that the state government had received only Rs. 400 crore out of Rs. 1500 crore under PDNA for the year 2023. Additionally, Rs. 1500 crore had also been announced by the Prime Minister for helping the affected families devastated by this year's torrential rains, but it still remains uncertain whether this amount is part of the special relief package or scheme-based assistance.

Chief Minister Sukhu said that the present state government was providing relief to the affected families from its limited resources and restoring the damaged roads, irrigation and water supply schemes on a war footing to facilitate the people. He said that torrential rains had caused substantial losses during the current monsoon compared to the disaster in the year 2023. He said that about Rs. 20000 crore of damages were reported over the last three years due to various disasters.

The Chief Minister said that this year's receding monsoon has caused widespread devastation across the State, leading to valuable loss of lives and vital infrastructure such as electricity, water supply, and roads, as well as private properties. This is a clear indication of the adverse impacts of climate change.

The Chief Minister said that Ministers of the state government were actively present on the ground and monitoring the relief and rehabilitation operations, while he himself is in constant touch with the district administration. He added that Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri visited disaster-affected areas of Dharampur in the Mandi district and has informed that more than Rs six crore in damages have been sustained to the HRTC buses. (ANI)