To inspect the relief work for the cloudburst sufferers in Uttarakhand, Congress General Secretary in charge, Ambika Soni yesterday met with the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat and State Party Chief Kishore Upadhyay to discuss about the relief work in Uttarakhand. She averred that her party congress and the party chief were worried about the natural calamity which took more than 20 lives.
In the meeting between Ambika Soni and Harish Rawat it was suggested that a member of the victim’s family would get government job. Rawat said in the state cabinet meeting it will be decided whether one or more family members would get the government job. “In most of the natural calamities which occur, it is the family that has lost its breadwinner which suffers the most”.
Upadhyay told that his party workers immediately started the rescue work after the devastation. The Chief Minister and Upadhyay visited the affected area. Rawat showed his condolence to the suffered families. He said the families will soon get the relief funds and also Disaster Control Room will daily monitor the situation and send reports to the administration.
1st July’s Deadly cloudburst killed at least 20 people in the Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts of Uttarakhand. Incessant rain and landslides swept away the houses. Some villagers were missing from Dhelabagad area. The most affected village in the district was Jakhni. Landslides and flash floods killed almost 18 lives there. Locals said that a hydro-electricity company was in that village and the company’s distillation tank and diversion wares also helped to remove the boulders caused by flashflood.
Balbir Lal, a local who lost his wife in the flood said, “Though a downpour started at 12 PM on June 30, everything was okay till the wee hours of June 1 when suddenly huge boulders came riding over a furious wave of mud and slush from Jakhni side and hit our homes. We nervously ran towards the hills but the deluge had arrived there even before we could. I somehow saved myself but failed to save her (his wife). The image of my wife sinking into the depths still haunts me and would perhaps continue to do so for the rest of my life”.
The rescue operation has started 2 days after the calamity. Additional Secretary, Disaster Management, C Ravishankar stated that rescue operation is completed except the worst hit Bastadi. Two JCB machines and dog squads are also helping the rescue team to carry on the rescue operation.
The chief minister of the state requested Home Minister Sree Rajnath Singh to arrange 20 satellite phones for better communication between the agencies who are engaged in rescue operation.
Relief camps are built in government schools and panchayat buildings in Bastadi and Naudala villages. The affected families have been kept there for shelter. CM Harish Rawat sanctioned Rs. 5 crore to Pithoragarh and Chamoli districts, Rs. 1 crore to other hill districts and Rs. 1 crore to the districts which are in plains.
