Noorpur: Deputy Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mukesh Agnihotri said that due to deluge and natural calamity in the state, a loss of Rs 1,548 crore was estimated to Jal Shakti department.
He shared this information during his stay at PWD rest house at Noorpur on way to Chamba on Wednesday.
He informed that according to preliminary estimates, the state has suffered a loss of about Rs 8,000 crore due to heavy rains in the state in past few days.
Heavy rains and floods have caused massive damage to power, water and road projects in the state, he said and told that most of the projects have been restored expeditiously, but it will take some time to restore them permanently.
He informed that the projects of Jal Shakti department which were damaged in Kangra district are functioning smoothly.
Apart from that, HRTC buses are operating normally on all routes in the district.
Agnihotri said that during the disaster, more than 70,000 tourists and people were stranded in Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti and other places, who have been rescued and returned home safely.
The Deputy Chief Minister informed that the Central Water Commission has given its approval to complete the work of the ambitious Finna Singh Irrigation Project under construction at Noorpur.
He further said that the state government has so far spent Rs 300 crore on its construction and has asked the central government to release an amount of Rs 343 crore for its completion.
As soon as funds are received from the central government, the remaining construction work will be completed on a war footing, he added.
