Bahuguna seeks Rs 8,000 crore package for Uttarakhand

DSC_0254New Delhi: Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Vijay Bahuguna on Wednesday told in Cabinet committee meeting that it takes Rs. 8,000 crore for rehabilitation plan to make damaged villages habitable.

The geographical spread of areas affected by the floods does not much exceed six assembly segments and about a 100-odd villages have borne the brunt of the disaster. The total number of villages affected is around 400.

The disaster that claimed thousands of lives has hurt the hill state’s economic lifeline with major tourist and religious centres like the char dham area, the Kailash-Mansarovar route and Bageshwar being hit by the flood fury.

The areas known to be trekkers’ paradise like the Pindari glacier have been affected too and the cumulative affects of the damage poses a serious threat to Uttarakhand’s economy that is heavily dependent on tourism.

Bahuguna had presented an 18-point plan that includes restoration of Kedarnath Valley and its famous temple with the help of Archeological Survey of India (ASI), while Dwarka shankaracharya Swaroopanand is being consulted on rituals and purification rites.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram had earlier said that procedures will not prove to be a hurdle in the state government’s quest to rebuild areas that have been devastated by the floods, which assured CM for the centre’s help.

Rebuilding with better planning and ecologically sensitive technologies is essential to ensure livelihoods of people are not affected over a long period as this will immensely add to the deprivation and force migration.

Bureau Report

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