After heavy rain, floods, cracks develop in over 100 houses in Himachal’s Rampur

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 31 : Over a 100 houses in Himachal Pradesh’s Rampur have developed cracks due to the fury of the rain and floods, which reminded people of the cracks in houses in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath.
Earlier this year, many residential and commercial buildings in Joshimath developed cracks due to land subsidence due to which many people had to be relocated from their hoses to safe buildings. And a number of commercial buildings also had to be demolished. On January 28, the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) informed that 863 buildings with cracks had been noticed due to the disaster.
“Because of excessive rain, there have been a lot of damages in the Rampur subdivision…more than 100 houses have developed cracks…relief works are being done, we are providing all the necessary items to the people," said Jai Chand, Tehsildar, Rampur.

As the hill state has witnessed continuous rainfall, a loss estimated at Rs 5691.79 crores has been caused in Himachal Pradesh since June 24. 
According to the HP disaster management authority data, so far 190 people have died in the monsoon due to various reasons. Of these, 54 people have lost their lives due to landslides and flash floods. 136 people have lost their lives due to road accidents or other reasons. Till now 34 people are missing and 219 people are injured.
So far 706 houses have been damaged in the state while 7,192 houses have been partially damaged. 244 shops have been damaged amid monsoon and 2,236 cow sheds have been damaged. 
Moreover, CM Sukhu has also sought time from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to brief them about the rain damage. 
He said that he has high hopes from the Union government to get financial help to the disaster-hit state. He was replying to media questions in Shimla.
He said a special meeting of the PWD department has been conducted and it will be ensured that farmers do not face any problems transporting crops to markets.
“I have sought time from Prime Minister and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and we are waiting for the interim help from the state. Tomorrow the Central minister will visit the state and our hopes are high. We can only hope and shall do whatever is possible for the welfare of the state,” said Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Earlier today, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, while presiding over the meeting of the Public Works Department directed the officers to ensure repair and restoration of roads damaged due to heavy rain and landslides in various parts of the State.
He said that priority would be given to roads of the apple growing belts so that produce of the growers could be taken to markets well in time.
The Chief Minister sanctioned Rs 23 crore for undertaking repair and restoration works of roads affected due to natural calamities.
He said that Rs five crore would be given for the repair of the road from Yashwant Nagar to Chhaila. Rupees one crore each would also be provided to seven divisions in apple growing areas of Shimla district to accelerate the restoration work in these areas. A sum of rupees one crore each to PWD divisions would also be given in all four blocks of Kullu district, Shillai and Rajgarh blocks of Sirmaur district where damage due to natural calamity was severe, he said.
"I will shortly visit Chopal, Jubbal and Kotkhai areas to conduct a spot review of the repair and restoration works being carried out in these areas", CM Sukhu said.
He directed the PWD officers to purchase machinery and deploy the same in the affected areas to clear the debris to ensure the smooth movement of vehicles. He said that there would be no paucity of funds for maintenance and repair of the roads and PWD shall commence all the restoration works immediately.
He also advised PWD officers to start online booking of PWD rest houses with advance payment. This practice must be followed by IPH also.
The Chief Minister said that clause 10 CC would be removed so that the practice of escalation in the estimates of construction works could be stopped.
Meanwhile, the Public Works Department Minister of the Himachal Pradesh government, Vikramaditya Singh appealed to the tourists to start visiting Himachal Pradesh as things have started getting to normal after the rain and flood damages in the state.
He said that it is the responsibility and duty of the state government to make people feel safe and provide facilities for visiting the state.
He also assured the apple farmers in the state that they will not have to face any problems to transport the crops to the markets well in time before harvesting.
He said a special meeting was conducted by the Chief Minister on Monday to review the road status in the apple production area in the state, he said nearly Rs 25 crore has been allocated for the apple production areas in the state.
“The situation is getting normal day by day after the damages due to rain. There has been huge damage to the roads, be it National Highways, State Highways or link roads, the state government is trying to restore the roads and working hard to restore them. Today the Chief Minister chaired a meeting on it and Rs 25 crore has been allocated to different PWD divisions, especially for the restoration of the road in the apple belts so that farmers do not face any problem,” said Vikramaditya Singh.
“The Union Minister Nitin Gadkari is visiting the state tomorrow. We shall work collectively to restore the National Highways and the state is being brought back on track again. Our department is working overnight to restore the roads, the tourism economy is the biggest economy of Himachal Pradesh, the hotels, home stays and resorts and the occupancy rate has gone down to 1 per cent from 5 per cent. This is a matter of concern. We want to assure those tourists that the government is with them. It is our duty to provide better facilities. We want to bring everything to normalcy and revive the tourism business,” Singh further added.
Notably, heavy rainfall in the state has led to several landslides that have blocked roads and highways, stranding scores of people.