DW BUREAU / Shimla

The Union government will leave no stone unturned to provide relief to the disaster-affected people of Himachal Pradesh's Mandi and rehabilitate them, BJP president JP Nadda said on Wednesday after visiting the areas ravaged by cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides. Fifteen people died and five were injured while a search is on to trace the 27 people who went missing after 10 cloudbursts, followed by flash floods and landslide hit Mandi region on the intervening night of June 30 and July 1.

Several properties, including 1,184 houses, suffered extensive damage, while 780 livestock also perished in the disaster.

Nadda visited Mandi along with former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur and state BJP chief Rajiv Bindal.

"The Central government is committed to providing relief to every affected person," said Nadda, the Union heath minister, and directed the officers concerned to ensure there was no laxity in relief and rehabilitation operations.

He conveyed condolences to the bereaved families and assured them that the Centre was working in coordination with the state government. "The local administration is working on a war footing to rescue trapped people, providing temporary shelter, food and medicines," Nadda said.

Upon his arrival in Sundernagar earlier in the day, he took feedback about relief and rescue operations from the officials and visited the Sainj-Pangliyur-Baga villages and the most-affected Thunag area.

He spoke to the locals and also reviewed the health services in disaster-affected areas. After the relief works are over, the focus would be on the restoration of roads and bridges, and efforts are on to ensure that normalcy returns at the earliest, the BJP national president said. Asserting that the Central government stood with the people of Himachal Pradesh, Nadda said that he visited the state thrice during the 2023 disaster and brought assistance of Rs 3,146 crore.

Recently, Rs 2,006 crore was released under the National Disaster Relief Fund, he said, adding that over 1 lakh houses have been constructed under PM Awas Yojana and Rs 3,000 crore have been allocated under PM Gramin Sadak Yojana.

According to State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) data, 174 roads, including 136 in the worst-hit Mandi district, were closed while 162 transformers and 755 water supply schemes were affected till Wednesday evening, with the state suffering losses to the tune of around Rs 740 crore.

(editor@dailyworld.in)