'Rain damage in state should be declared national disaster'

Faced with his first major test in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh since taking over as chief minister in December, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, 59, recently fronted the onerous relief and rescue operations.

With the central disaster aid of ₹600 crore proving meagre to rebuild an extensively damaged infrastructure and rehabilitating 3,000 families, he is now trying to convince the Centre to declare the state's losses a national disaster and provide a special relief package. In an interview with Ramesh Vinayak in Chandigarh on Monday, chief minister Sukhu dwelt on his challenges and priorities. Edited excerpts:

What is your assessment of the cost and cause of recent disaster in Himachal Pradesh in the wake of excessive rains?

The material loss is over ₹12,000 crore which is unprecedented in Himachal. It was result of excess rains, landslides and floods. Climate change and man-made factors accentuated the disaster. Certain areas such as Lahaul & Spiti, which used to get scant or no rain, received a downpour this time. The Kangra region got floods due to overflowing Pong Dam. For the first time, we saw the hills sinking which led to even concrete houses crashing down. When landslide converts into mudslide, it causes more damage. That is what happened in Shimla's Summer Hill where 20 people were killed in a day. In all, 13,000 houses across the state were damaged. Of these, 3,000 houses were completely washed out. About 1,500 roads suffered damage to varying extent. Our drinking water and irrigation schemes in river beds suffered a loss of ₹2,500 crore. The Larji hydel power project got a hit of ₹1,000 crore. When the National High Authority of India constructed a road, the muck was dumped into the river which changed it course, flooding the power plant. I have not seen such scale of havoc in my life.

What is basis of your case to the Centre to declare the floods a national disaster?