Dehradun. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached Champawat district on a one-day visit on Saturday. He conducted an aerial survey of various areas of the district’s disaster-affected areas like Saryu Valley, Kali Valley, Pancheshwar Valley, Rausal and Tamli. After this, the Chief Minister held a meeting with the officials of the district at NHPC Guest House, Banbasa and took detailed information from the officials about the relief and rescue operations in the areas affected by heavy rains and the work to normalize life and reconstruction in the areas affected by heavy rains.
The Chief Minister met the public and listened to their problems. During this, the public gave a memorandum to the Chief Minister regarding various problems. The Chief Minister assured the public to provide all possible help to them. During this, the Chief Minister also took detailed information about the work being done to repair the roads and bridges damaged by the disaster in the district. He directed the officials to take necessary steps to normalize the arrangements in the affected areas. He directed that the damaged roads, drinking water and power lines should be restored as soon as possible. And as an alternative, electricity should be arranged by UREDA from solar energy.
The Chief Minister directed the officials to provide every possible help to every disaster affected person in the district. The relief amount should be distributed immediately to the affected people to whom the disaster relief amount is to be distributed. Various arrangements of the district including reconstruction works in the district should be normalized soon and the closed roads in the district should be made operational for traffic on priority basis. Apart from this, the Chief Minister directed the officials to personally visit the disaster affected areas and do on-site inspection and provide proper facilities to the affected people there. He said that it should be ensured that the public does not face any kind of problem.
The Chief Minister said that along with taking information about the damage caused by the disaster and the progress of relief work, talk to the disaster affected people in the area and listen to their problems and demands and solve the problems of the public on priority. He directed the officials to complete the disaster relief work with promptness and timeliness. In his address, the Chief Minister said that Uttarakhand state faces a lot of damage due to some form of disaster throughout the year, in view of which a request was made to the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, who increased the amount of disaster relief to the state, so that reconstruction work etc. is being done immediately. He said that helping people by providing them immediate relief money is the first priority of the government. He also said that after relief work after a disaster, the first effort should now be on reconstruction work. During this, he was informed by the local people about the damage caused in Tanakpur, Banbasa area including Talladesh, Manch, Tamli.
The Chief Minister directed the District Magistrate and the Irrigation Department to prepare a proposal for a permanent solution to the damage caused by Sharda River, Haddi River and Kirora Nala. The Chief Minister said that to solve the problem of water logging in the dry port being built in Nepal at Banbasa, the NHAI officials were instructed to solve the problem with permanent responsibility. Along with this, he also directed to connect the local village with connectivity from the said road connecting Nepal.
During this, the public representatives present appreciated the immediate and prompt relief and rescue work done by the administration as well as the work being done for the disaster affected area.
In the meeting, District Magistrate Navneet Pandey informed the Chief Minister about the damage caused in the district and informed that various main and rural roads of the district which were closed due to heavy rains in the past few days have been opened and made smooth for traffic and work is continuously going on on the roads which are still closed. Also, food kits including gas cylinders, essential everyday items in addition to essential food items are being distributed to the villagers in the disaster affected area. Apart from this, the District Magistrate informed that food grains are being distributed to the consumers by keeping a stock till October in all the Sasta Galla shops of the district.
Along with this, food grain packets have also been kept in sufficient numbers in all the Sasta Galla shops of the disaster affected villages so that they can be distributed among the needy and disaster affected people when required. The District Magistrate informed that in the remote areas of the district where LPG distribution is not being done through big vehicles, LPG is being regularly distributed through small vehicles etc.
During the meeting, the District Magistrate informed that 23 rural motor roads are closed in the district, in which work is going on continuously to make the traffic smooth. National Highway-09 has been made smooth for traffic with complete security arrangements. Apart from this, out of 77 blocked drinking water schemes of the Drinking Water Corporation under the district, 52 drinking water schemes and 123 out of 136 drinking water schemes of Jal Sansthan have been made smooth. And *In the areas where the drinking water system is blocked, drinking water is being supplied through pickup and tankers.
Out of the disrupted electricity system in 17 villages / towns, the electricity department has restored the electricity system in 11 villages / towns and work is being done continuously in the remaining. And solar energy has been installed there as an alternative through UREDA. In the district, relief amount of Rs 01 crore 34 lakh 79 thousand 954 has been distributed to the affected people so far for the damage caused by the disaster in the past days.
In the district, 50 families affected by the disaster have been provided gratuitous assistance of Rs. 2.50 lakh (2.5 lakh)*. Apart from this, due to the heavy rains in the district in the past few days, in addition to 03 human losses, 35 animals were lost, for which an amount of 12 lakhs has been distributed to the cattle rearers and a total of 41 houses (21 fully and 20 partially) have been damaged in the district. For which an amount of 62 lakhs was distributed to the affected people.
An amount of Rs 7 lakh 34 thousand 454 has been distributed to 294 families in the district for crop damage. Apart from this, the teams deployed for the disaster affected area in the district are continuously going to the disaster affected area and assessing the damage. Apart from this, reconstruction work has been started in the district. The roads which are closed in the rural areas and other damages are being assessed and work is being done by preparing proposals under MNREGA.
MLA Lohaghat Khushal Singh Adhikari, MLA representative Champawat Prakash Tiwari and MLA representative Tanakpur Deepak Rajwar, BJP General Secretary Mukesh Kalkhudiya, Rohitash Agarwal, Additional Superintendent of Police Nainital Harvansh Singh Chief Development Officer Sanjay Kumar Singh, Additional District Magistrate Hemant Kumar Verma, Executive Engineer Public Works Department MC Paldia, Executive Engineer Water Institute Bilal Yunus, Water Corporation, Executive Engineer Rural Construction Department, Electricity Department, District Supply Officer and officials of various departments were present in the meeting.
