A massive landslide, stretching for nearly 200 metres, occurred in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district near Chaukar village in the Nauhradhar area on Saturday. Though five people were at the site during the incident, they were reported to be safe. However, five houses are now in a danger zone, and the entire region has been severely impacted by the monsoon season.
The visuals of the landslide show trees and green vegetation being swept away as large boulders tumbled down the slope. In the video, a person can be heard saying, "Chaukar mein hua landslide, badi durghanta ghatne se bachi hai abhi (A landslide has occurred in Chaukar; a major disaster has just been narrowly avoided)."
In response to the widespread devastation, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated on Friday that the state government has requested approval from the Centre to allot one bigha of forest land to each family affected by the recent rains. He also announced the cancellation of all examinations due to the adverse weather and road conditions.
During a visit to disaster-hit areas in Kullu, Sukhu spoke to reporters, describing this year’s monsoon as a season "causing widespread devastation, leading to heavy loss of lives and properties." He mentioned that the state government is providing assistance from its own limited resources, as "no support has been received from the Central government so far." The chief minister also added that the state has prepared a ₹3,000-crore project to seek assistance from the World Bank for disaster management and the rehabilitation of affected families.
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Since the monsoon began on June 20, the hill state has suffered losses exceeding ₹3,690 crore. Officials reported that the Public Works Department has accounted for ₹2,252 crore in damages, while the Jal Shakti Department has reported ₹1,147 crore.
To expedite reconstruction efforts, the chief minister has authorised deputy commissioners to approve new works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) without prior approval from the gram sabha (village assembly).
An ex post facto clearance from the gram sabha, panchayat samiti, and zila parishad will be obtained later. Additionally, deputy commissioners can now sanction all types of works, including land development projects, with the previous limit of 20 works per gram panchayat being removed. The financial ceiling for individual land development projects has also been raised from ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh.
You can watch this video about the heavy rainfall and landslides that have been occurring across Himachal Pradesh.
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