New Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri inspected the damage caused by floods in the Son Khad at Dharampur and later held a meeting with local administrative and departmental officials to review and evaluate the relief and restoration work.
Agnihotri said that according to initial estimates, public and private property worth about Rs 10 crore has been damaged in Dharampur due to the floods and heavy rains. He noted that the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) alone has suffered an initial loss of about Rs 6 crore. Twenty buses of the corporation have been badly damaged—18 from the Dharampur depot, and one each from the Sarkaghat and Bilaspur depots. The bus stand has also sustained heavy damage, although the corporation’s staff is safe. Several water supply schemes under the Jal Shakti Department have been affected as well. Computers, records, and furniture at the Block Development Office have been severely damaged, in addition to losses to roads, power supply infrastructure, and other public and private property.
The Deputy CM directed officials of the Public Works Department to reopen all bus-worthy roads within a week. He also instructed that electricity supply be fully restored at the earliest. He added that buses which were parked outside the bus stand would be used to resume transport services on the main routes, and issued necessary directions to HRTC officials in this regard.
Earlier, Agnihotri inspected the damage at Dharampur bus stand and the local market. He also interacted with affected people and assured them of all possible assistance from the state government.
Those present on the occasion included Deputy Chief Whip Kewal Singh Pathania, MLA Chandrashekhar, Kavita Shekhar, SP Sakshi Verma, ADM Dr. Madan Kumar, SDM Dharampur Joginder Patial, HRTC Board member Dharmendra Dhami, Chief Engineer Jal Shakti Rohit Dubey, PWD officer Pramod Kashyap, Executive Engineer Electricity Santosh Kumar, along with officers from HRTC, Rural Development, and other departments.