Two Tibetan settlements badly hit as heavy monsoon havoc lives across North India
By Tsering Choephel
DHARAMSALA, 11 July: Two Tibetan settlements, Yulo Ko and 15 Mile in the Kullu Manali area have suffered heavy damage to their houses with their daily lives greatly disturbed as the torrential rain wreaked havoc across Himachal Pradesh.
The secretary of the Central Tibetan Administration’s Department of Home, Palden Dhondup assured help from the administration to the Tibetans affected by the calamity.
“Our settlement officer there has arranged temporary accommodation and meals at school for those affected by the floods. We have agreed to provide financial support as requested at this time of emergency.”
“There are YouTubers claiming to have built the protective structure in the camp. But our home department constructs and rebuild those structures each year as it faces destruction every year. A 30 lakh rupees budget has been allocated for the wall construction there but, it has been delayed due to monsoon. So, it will be carried out after the monsoon is over,” he added
Torrential rainfall in the last few days in north India has caused flooding, landslides, water-logging and related disasters claiming over 41 lives in the last few days, reported The Wire.
The flash floods and landslides have damaged buildings, shops and roads. Videos widely shared on social media show – shops, vehicles and bridges being destroyed in floods.
This torment of monsoon has paralysed the normalcy in the area, with major national highways and roads rendered uncrossable.
Across Himachal Pradesh, 14 major landslides and 13 flash floods have occurred, with the Kullu-Manali area, the worst affected.
Himachal Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has warned people through a video message to “stay home for the next 24 hours because very heavy rain is expected.”
He has also assured people of the support from the government and started three helplines — 1100, 1070, and 1077.
“You can call up these numbers to share information about anyone stuck in the calamity. I am available round the clock to help you.”
According to Kangra District Collector Nipun Jindal, as of Monday, said on Monday, incessant rains over the past four days have damaged public facilities worth around Rs 75 crore in Kangra alone, reports the Economic Times.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for seven districts of Himachal Pradesh and an orange alert for three districts in the next 48 hours. The department further predicted heavy rainfall in the state of Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi.
