Dalai Lama expresses sadness at loss of life and property caused by monsoon in Himachal
DHARAMSALA, 23 Aug: The Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama has expressed sadness over the excessively heavy monsoon rains that have caused the loss of precious life, as well as damage to property and infrastructure in several parts of Himachal Pradesh.
“I offer my condolences to you, to the families who have lost loved ones, and to all those affected by this devastation,” the Dalai Lama has said in a missive addressed to Himachal’s Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
“I appreciate that the State Government and other agencies are doing their utmost to provide relief to people affected by these calamitous conditions.
Expressing his sadness over the great hardship that the natural calamity has Brough to many people in the state, the octogenarian Tibetan leader has applauded “the State Government and other agencies” for doing their utmost to provide relief to people affected by these calamitous conditions.
The Dalai Lama who has his exile residence in Mcleod Ganj here on Himachal has added that he “naturally feel a particular affinity for the people of Himachal Pradesh, which has been my home for more than sixty years” and as a mark of solidarity with the people of Himachal Pradesh, the Tibetan Nobel Laureate has offered a donation from the Dalai Lama Trust towards the relief and rescue efforts.
As many as 249 persons people have been killed in incidents of landslides and flash floods in Himachal as the state recorded 552.8 mm of rainfall during the current monsoon season.
Dharamsala, one of the wettest places in India broke its 64-year-old record of heaviest rainfall on Saturday as it recorded 333 mm of rain in 24 hours.
Additionally, it has incurred destruction worth Rs 1,337 crore. The previous record was 316 mm of rainfall on 6 August 1958.
As the monsoon rain damaged government property, roads, water supply schemes and transformers, the state has so far witnessed about 71 incidents of landslides, 64 flash floods, 12 cloudbursts, 12 drowning, 34 tree/rock fall and 27 others since June 29, according to Sudesh Kumar Mokhta, Special Secretary of Himachal’s Disaster Management.
The state had suffered losses to the tune of Rs 1,337 crore this monsoon which follows Rs 1,151 in 2021, Rs 872 in 2020, Rs 1,202 crore in 2019 and Rs 1,578 crore in 2018.
