Shimla: On behalf of HP State Cooperative Bank, Chairman of the bank, Davender Singh Shyam presented a cheque of Rs. 7,06,18,702 to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and on behalf of SJVN, the power sector public company, Chairman of SJVN Nand Lal Sharma presented a cheque of Rs 2.55 Crore towards Aapda Rahat Kosh-2023 (ARK-2023), a disaster relief fund set up by the government for extending assistance to the rain disaster hit in the state.
Lashed by a heavy monsoon that has caused extensive damage to public and private property, the Chief Minister has put the loss at over Rs 8,000 crore due to the weather calamity.
Though the Federal Government has extended Rs 180 crore for disaster relief, Sukhu has sought a special fiscal package for the state to recover from the disaster.
He has also appealed to the public to donate towards ARK-2023 so that immediate assistance could be provided to people who have suffered heavy damages.
The intense rains had washed away highways, bridges, houses, hotels and left over 70,000 tourists stranded all over the state. An early snowfall had caught over 300 tourists at high altitude lake Chander Tal by surprise and had to be rescued with great difficulty. At places, army and air force assistance was sought and some tourists were even evacuated by helicopters as there was no road to reach them.
Chief Minister Sukhu has thanked HP Coop Bank and SJVN for coming forward and providing assistance that would go a long in reaching out to families in their hour of distress.
