Natural disasters claimed 218 lives in HP: Minister

Shimla, Aug 4(UNI) Himachal Pradesh Revenue Minister Mahender Singh Thakur on Wednesday told the state Assembly that climate change, global warming and relentless tunneling in the power projects are wreaking havoc during monsoon season.
He was replying to a discussion on climate change on the third day of the ongoing monsoon session.
The Minister accepted that while massive landslides are causing massive damage to properties and lives, cloudbursts are wreaking havoc in state washing down the fertile lands, public assets, privates houses and cow sheds.
Requesting the members to sound cautions in their respective Assembly constituencies, Mr Thakur said that the way temperature is soaring due to global warming, the torrential rainfall in such a volume is wreaking havoc in the hills.
Glaciers are thawing rapidly due to global warming causing flash floods in tribal areas and rivers rising the water level.
In the year 2020 and 2021, drought affected about 800 to 900 water supply schemes. Reports compiled by Revenue department till June showed that hailstorm and drought affected the crops worth Rs 440 crore
in the lowline areas.
The Minister said that number of power projects and relentless tunneling shock the hills which is responsible for large number of natural disasters in Kinnuar districts. Recent flood in Lahaul Spiti caused a loss of Rs 52 crore in two days of rainfall.
He informed the House that as many as 218 people have died while 12 are still missing in heavy rains in
state during the season. Heavy rains killed nearly 500 livestock, while 1,152 houses, shops and cowsheds were
damaged since 13 June this year.
“The highest number of casualties has been reported in Shimla with 34 deaths, followed by Kangra (25), Sirmaur (23), Chamba (21), Mandi (19), Lahaul-Spiti (18), Kullu (17), Solan (16), Una, Kinnaur (13 each), Bilaspur (12) and Hamirpur (5) between June 13 June and August 3, he added.
Besides, several roads, bridges, water supply and irrigation schemes had suffered damage in flash floods and landslides caused by heavy rains, he added.
He stated that the state government has so far suffered a loss of Rs 451.56 crores due to damaged roads and bridges while water supply and irrigation schemes had suffered a loss of Rs 187 crore. A master plan is being proposed by the department to provide the relief to the affected people so that loss caused by the natural disasters could be averted .
However, states have to take the Centre’s permission to approve such rehabilitation plans and DPR if the cost of the project exceeds Rs 70 crore.

The natural and public resources are also being affected due to the catastrophic incidents. It is not easy to divert lands to affected people as the forest conservation act is a major rider in the way.
Earlier, starting the debate, Barsar MLA Inderdutt Lakhanpal said global warming was causing serious concerns as sometimes it results in drought-like situations and sometimes heavy rains.
It had further led to drying of traditional water sources and small rivers and rivulets, he said while urging the state government to provide adequate compensation to farmers whose crops had been destroyed in the rains.
Kinnaur MLA Jagat Singh Negi raised the issue of loss to crops in Lahaul Spiti district as they weren’t able to transport these to markets on time. He alleged that the situation was not properly handled by the state government and the administration after the cloudburst in Udaipur subdivision of Lahaul-Spiti district.
Vishal Nehriya, Balbir Singh Verma and Jiya Lal also spoke on the impact of climate change on the people especially on the agriculturists and horticulturists.

UNI ML SB 1936