By – Prakarsh Kastwar
Priyanka Gandhi went to the Shiv Temple in Shimla’s Summer Hill to observe the circumstances and speak with the victims’ families.
When visiting the Shiv Temple in Shimla’s Summer Hill, where a landslide on August 14 killed 20 people, Congress leader and AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi said that the state would benefit if the federal government declared the Himachal crisis a national disaster.
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, and other state ministers were also there when Gandhi visited the temple to observe the situation and speak with the victims’ families.
She told reporters, “The circumstance is quite distressing. Many people have lost a great deal. We also stated yesterday that everyone must work together to overcome this.
Heavy rains have caused Himachal Pradesh to experience enormous losses. The losses have so far been estimated at 8,600 crore, while chief minister Sukhu claimed they may reach 12,000 crore. In the most recent rain-related disasters, up to 426 individuals died, and 39 are still missing. There have been over 2,575 entirely damaged homes and 11,000 partially damaged homes.
Gandhi complimented the residents of Himachal for sticking together and supporting one another during this trying time, adding that the state government has started making up for their losses.
If the Center declares this a national disaster, it will greatly benefit the state, she continued. It appears from the policies of the Center that they are unaware of the extent of harm that the state of Himachal Pradesh has experienced.
On Tuesday, Priyanka landed in Himachal after being met by Sukhu at the Chandigarh airport. From there, the two took a flight to Kullu’s Bhuntar airport. She spoke with the families who had been uprooted by the floods in July in Kullu and Manali before traveling to Shamli in the Solan district, where residences there had been damaged by land subsidence, after stopping at Pandoh and Mandi, the epicenter of the July and August floods and cloudbursts.
Gandhi also stated that Pratibha Singh, the head of the Himachal Congress and a member of parliament, would like to raise the matter of designating the devastation that the recent rainstorms in Himachal wrought as a national catastrophe during the forthcoming special session of the Parliament, which will be held from September 18 to 22.
“We have no idea what the topic of this special session will be or whether they’ll allow these topics to be discussed. But even if that doesn’t happen, we discussed the need for representation to the Central Government, and she added, “We will all put our power behind it and attempt to persuade them that they must proclaim it a national disaster.
Pratibha Singh told the news agency ANI that it was her responsibility to address Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s issues on behalf of the people of Himachal.
“I have written a letter to all our MPs that we should go and meet the PM together,” Singh stated. And would remind the PM that he made no mention of Himachal Pradesh, where such a tragedy occurred, and that no funding has been made available for this…In the Parliament, I will also bring up the need for assistance for Himachal Pradesh at this time.