In Midst of Blame Game, Sukhu Govt Stuck Counting Losses as Centre Funds Still Missing
Shimla, August 22:
Himachal is sinking in disaster. Deaths have already crossed 425. Losses have touched a mind-numbing ₹2.28 lakh crore.
But the Sukhu government is still busy counting and debating damages. Fresh funds from the Centre? Not a single rupee so far.
The official loss report tells a harrowing story. 287 people killed in landslides, flash floods, lightning and electrocution.
Another 138 dead in rain-related accidents. Over 28,000 cattle and poultry gone. More than 3,000 houses flattened.
Public infrastructure — roads, power lines, water schemes, schools, health centres — all battered beyond repair.
“We have nothing left. Just waiting for some help that never comes,” says Prem Chand from Mandi, whose house was washed away in July.
Relief is crawling. The Chief Minister says Delhi has abandoned Himachal in its worst crisis.
The BJP says Sukhu has failed miserably. Both sides are shouting. Victims are waiting. “Leaders come here, take photos, and leave. We are still living under plastic sheets,” fumes a widow from Mandi who lost her husband in a landslide.
In Mandi, Kangra, Kullu and Chamba, the destruction is the worst. Families are stuck in shelters with no electricity and no medicines. Crops are gone, shops are gone, cattle are gone. “This year was our only hope after last year’s losses.
Now even the fields are under mud. Who will feed us through winter?” asks farmer Balbir Singh from Kullu’s Anni valley.
The hills are falling apart. But the political class is busy scoring points over each other. Sukhu says the Centre is playing politics. The BJP says Sukhu is incompetent.
Meanwhile, citizens are left to fend for themselves. “They fight in the Assembly, we fight for food,” says Meena Kumari from Seraj, cooking on a makeshift stove outside a relief camp.
Himachal bleeds. The leaders blame. And the people are left to pick up the pieces.
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