Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Friday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to declare the natural calamity triggered due to the floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh as a National Disaster. In her letter dated September 15, the Congress leader said that the disaster clubbed with central government’s decision to reduce the import duty on foreign apples will double the economic impact on the people of Himachal Pradesh.
“it is not right to hurt the farmers in this difficult time. On the contrary, if the central government can provide any kind of financial help to the farmers of Himachal Pradesh, it will be a relief for them.
“I appeal to you to declare this disaster as a national disaster like the Kedarnath disaster of 2013 and provide financial assistance to the victims and the state so that the people of Himachal Pradesh can get relief and the state can be reconstructed in a proper manner,” Gandhi wrote.
Earlier, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu had said that he raised the demand to declare Himachal disaster as national disaster with the Prime Minister during the G20 dinner. He also demanded a special package for the state.
“The state government is continuously demanding the central government that the disaster here should be declared a national disaster. Also, the Central Government should give a special relief package to Himachal, but till now both demands have been ignored,” CM Sukhu said.
The Himachal government has announced to pay house rent to people who lost their homes in the disaster. The state government will pay Rs 5,000 in rural areas and Rs 10,000 in urban areas till 31 March 2024.