Himachal Pradesh to declare heavy rains as state calamity, says CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu

The Himachal Pradesh government has declared the massive damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Friday.A notification in this regard was issued on Friday. However, the state is also waiting a response from the Centre to declare the disaster in Himachal Pradesh as a national calamity. Heavy rains have lashed the hill state since Sunday, triggering landslides in several districts, including Shimla. Talking to PTI, the chief minister said rescue operations are going on in full swing and the state government is making efforts to help the affected families, especially those whose houses have been damaged in the flash floods and landslides with its own resources.

"Central teams have inspected the affected areas for loss assessment and we need timely help from the Centre," Sukhu said, adding the state has suffered an estimated loss of Rs 10,000 crore. With the recovery of one more body from the rubble of a Shiv temple in Summer Hill, the death toll in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh has risen to 75 and 22 of these deaths were in the three major landslides in Shimla alone --at the Shiva temple in Summer Hill and in Fagli and Krishnanagar, SP, Shimla, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said. Since the onset of the monsoon on June 24, 217 persons have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh and 11,301 houses have been partially or completely damaged, according to the state emergency operation centre.A total of 506 roads are still closed in the state and 408 transformers and 149 water supply schemes have been disrupted.Over the last three days, 2,074 people have been evacuated in flooded areas of Kangra district.