Shimla:

Almost three months after monsoon hit parts of Himachal Pradesh, heavy rainfall picked up pace again, blocking twenty-four roads in five districts of the state.

According to the data by the State Disaster Management Authority, “16 roads remain blocked in Lahaul-Spiti district, 4 in Shimla, 2 in Kullu and 1 each in Kangra and Kinnaur districts.”

As per data from the State Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, “Since the onset of monsoon fury in the state, 468 people have died, 487 injured and 40 are missing.”

“2,647 houses have been completely damaged, 1,129 houses damaged partially, 320 shops damaged and 5,977 Cowsheds damaged,” it said.

Additionally, the data suggested reports of 168 landslide and 72 flash flood incidents during the past three months.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday tabled a resolution in the State Assembly to demand the Union government to announce the Disaster-hit Himachal Pradesh as a National Disaster whereas the opposition has brought the adjournment motion under rule 67 for discussion on the disaster situation in the state.

Both the ruling Congress and Opposition BJP held Legislative party meetings. A total of seven meetings will be held in the session till September 25.

In the monsoon session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly which started in Shimla here on Monday, a total of 743 questions were received by the Assembly secretariat in the session. Out of which 70 per cent of questions were related to the disaster. One notice under Rule 62, 2 notices under Rule 101, 9 notices under Rule 130, one notice under Rule 102, and 1 notice under Rule 324 have been received.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu appealed to the opposition to bring issues related to disaster and funds from the Union government during the assembly.

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu also thanked the Congress working committee for passing a resolution to demand from Union government to announce the Disaster hit Himachal Pradesh as a National Disaster.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Shimla:

As many as 112 roads, including National Highway 305, were blocked in Himachal Pradesh due to rainfall on Sunday, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre.

Besides this, 12 water supply schemes have also been disrupted. One fire incident has been reported in the past 24 hours, according to government data.

According to official data, an average of about seven individuals have been losing their lives daily in rain-linked occurrences within the hilly state since the monsoon’s commencement on June 24.

Himachal Pradesh has been battered by heavy rainfall for the past several weeks and the state has suffered great loss of life as well as property in various rain-related incidents, such as landslides, cloudbursts, flash floods, etc.

Apart from casualties, the disaster management said that the monetary loss is expected to reach nearly Rs 12,000 crore.

Meanwhile, out of the total deaths as per data available with the state disaster management authority, 136 people have lost their lives due to landslides and flash floods. A total of 231 people have lost their lives due to road accidents or other reasons, the government added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Shimla:

Revenue Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Jagat Singh Negi on Friday said that since the onset of monsoon on June 24, 400 people have died and over 400 have been injured in the rain-related disaster.

He said that so far over 2500 houses have been completely damaged and over 11000 houses have been partially damaged.

Jagat Singh Negi said that a large number of people have also lost their land and we don’t have a pool for land allotment in most of the places in the state. “We shall have to seek amendments in law as in most of the places there are forests Rights act implemented in the state. We shall speak to the Union government in this regard,” said Jagat Singh Negi.

Speaking about the rumoured ‘One Nation One Election’ likely to be brought in the special monsoon session called by the Central Government, Jagat Singh Negi said that the Lok Sabha elections are very close and in such a situation, the BJP is making such statements to divert the attention of the public from the real issues. “India is already a country BJP is trying to take political advantage by raising such issues.”

“I want to ask that are they trying to destabilize the elected governments in the country? This entire process will take nearly 6 to 7 months in the completion of the election process. This will also have an impact on the financial state of the country as Crores of rupees would be spent on it.” said Jagat Singh Negi.

On being asked about INDIA Alliance parties getting together, he said that this is a good sign to end the communal and dividing forces in the country. He said that it is very good they have started coming together and a common platform and programme has been made right from sharing of seats to doing election rallies.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)