As the hill state witnessed heavy destruction owing to rains, public works and urban development minister Vikramaditya Singh called for an “environment friendly” development model.
Singh was speaking at the inauguration of the three-day sports competition of Under-14 Boys and Girls category of Kasumpti block at Government Model Senior Secondary School Ghanahatti in Shimla.
“Development should not be known as a reason for destruction. In fact there should be no destruction due to development works,” said Singh while sharing that from August 24 to 27, the state has suffered a loss of ₹800 crore due to the disaster while the losses incurred by the state since June 20 are around ₹3000 crore.
Admitting that restoration of the affected area is the biggest challenge, he said, “While carrying out restoration there should be no misuse of government money at all. We have to save every penny, only then money will be accumulated for the development of the state”.
He said that the incidents of cloudburst have increased a lot and this is an alarming situation for the state. “We have to change the development model which will be environment friendly and focus on that development model,” he said. The state since June 20, has witnessed 95 landslides, 91 flashfloods and 45 cloudbursts.
Calling for corrective measures, Singh said, “Debris should be dumped at the designated dumping site only. If our future generation lives under the shadow of danger then it is a matter of concern for all of us”.
In wake of the state’s increasing focus on promoting religious tourism, Singh also made a pitch for maintaining sanctity of religious places by adding, “The “Dev Sthals” of the state should not be polluted. There are many reasons behind all the Dev Sthals of Dev Bhoomi are established at high places. It is the duty of all of us to maintain the dignity of these sacred places. Today people are spreading garbage at Dev Sthals which is not right at all”.
Jal shakti vibhag suffered ₹100 cr loss: Agnihotri
The Jal Shakti Vibhag suffered ₹100 crore loss during the ongoing destruction in the state owing to torrential rains. This was shared by
deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri who also holds Jal Shakti department while expressing concern over the situation in areas affected by heavy rainfall in the state. He directed the departmental officers to carry out relief and restoration works on a war footing.
“Jal Shakti Vibhag has suffered a loss of approximately ₹100 crore due to the disaster. Out of a total of 487 water supply schemes in the district, 394 have been partially restored, while restoration work on the remaining schemes is being carried out expeditiously,” he said.
