Himachal Pradesh declares heavy rains as state calamity

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Himachal Pradesh government Friday declared the massive damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity. The entire hill state has been declared as a "natural calamity affected area" in view of the damage caused to human life and property due to heavy rains, a notification issued here on Friday said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had told PTI that the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to declare the massive damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity. The state is also awaiting a response from the Centre to declare the disaster in Himachal Pradesh as a national calamity, Sukhu said.

Meanwhile, with the recovery of three more bodies from the rubble of a Shiv temple in Summer Hill on Friday, the death toll in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh has risen to 77 and 23 of these deaths were in the three major landslides in Shimla alone — at the Shiva temple in Summer Hill and in Fagli and Krishnanagar, Shimla SP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said. About four persons are still feared buried in the temple debris, the SP said.

Speaking to PTI on Friday, Principal Secretary (Revenue) Onkar Chand Sharma said that after the weather becomes normal and accessibility is improved, a complete assessment of the losses incurred by the hill state would be conducted and the report will be submitted to the Centre for recovery and reconstruction efforts. Heavy rains have lashed the hill state since Sunday, triggering landslides in several districts, including Shimla.