Jal Shakti department suffers Rs 1,411 crore losses due to floods, says Himchal Deputy CM Agnihotri

Una (Himachal Pradesh), Jul 17 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri on Monday said the Jal Shakti Department has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 1,411 crore due to floods and landslides caused by heavy rains in the hill state.

He said 5,203 drinking water schemes, 1,237 irrigation schemes and 55 sewerage schemes were affected while 101 flood control works were damaged.

Agnihotri, who holds the portfolio of Jal Shakti Vibhag, said while 4,623 schemes have been restored so far, it will take time to fix all of them.

“We have been able to restore them because of the passionate and steely spirits of our employees,” he said.

“I appreciate the work being done by the employees and officers of the department for the restoration of drinking water and sewerage schemes in difficult circumstances,” he added.

Agnihotri said the government’s aim was to provide relief to the affected people at the earliest.

So far, 118 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents in the state since the onset of monsoon on June 24, according to the state emergency response centre.The state has suffered a loss to the tune of Rs 4,415 crore.