Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari visited the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday to assess the recent damage caused by heavy rainfall and landslides. He interacted with the affected people in the worst-hit areas, including Bhunihar, Deodhar, Shirad, Kalath, and Aloo Ground Manali, and gathered detailed information about their needs during this difficult time. During his visit, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, leader of the opposition Jairam Thakur, and Minister of Rural Development Vikramaditya Singh were also present.
Nitin Gadkari assured the affected individuals that the Central Government would provide all possible assistance to them. To ensure the repair and restoration work is carried out on a war footing, the Central Government will allocate 400 crore rupees under the CRIF (Central Road and Infrastructure Fund) and Setu Mandal budgets. Additionally, the Indian National Highway Authority will bear the expenses of repairing contact roads up to one kilometer in the apple-producing areas around the national highways.
He mentioned that many roads have been washed away due to floods, and to mitigate such incidents in the future, a technical team has been formed to assess the situation in the affected areas in the next three to four days.
Furthermore, the state is constructing 68 tunnels at a cost of 12,500 crore rupees to improve connectivity. On this occasion, Chief Minister Sukhinder Singh Sukhu requested the Central Government to extend generous aid to Himachal Pradesh in overcoming this disaster considering the state’s limited resources.