Priyanka Gandhi urges Centre to declare Himachal’s natural calamity as national disaster

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], September 12 (ANI): Congress General Secretary, Priyanka Gandhi said on Tuesday that the Center should declare the Himachal Pradesh massive catastrophe as a 'National Disaster' and should immediately come forward to help the affected.
"The Central Government should not discriminate between the States on party lines. It becomes the duty of the Union Government to provide aid in such circumstances, analyzing the impact of the disaster. The Center should declare such a massive catastrophe as a 'National Disaster' and should immediately come forward for the help of the affected," Priyanka Gandhi said speaking to ANI. 
Priyanka said that though the State Government was doing far beyond its limited resources to provide succour to the affected families, however, without the assistance of the Union Government it was rather difficult to bring normalcy and renovation works besides providing aid to the people. 
The Congress General Secretary was visiting the calamity-hit areas of the Kullu district along with Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. 
Both the leaders visited Sangam Bridge on the confluence of River Parvati and Beas at Bhuntar and the Potato ground at Manali, the areas badly devastated by the fury of floods triggered by torrential rains. The people narrated their woes to the INC General Secretary and lauded the efforts of the State Government in providing timely relief to the affected. 
Priyanka Gandhi visited Deori village of Drang assembly constituency of Mandi district to review the damages caused due to cloudburst and landslides in the region.  She also inspected the damage caused to the building of Senior Secondary School at Deori besides the private property which got damaged during the rain fury.
While interacting with the people of the region, Priyanka said that she has come to Himachal considering it as her duty to share the sorrows of her people.
"I have a house in Himachal Pradesh and I consider it as my moral duty to be amongst my people during the hours of crisis", she said. 
Priyanka said that people in the rain-ravaged state will overcome this disaster by working together, united, helping each other, and moving forward holding hands. “The way people of the State have courageously faced the disaster is appreciable,” she said.
On the way, Priyanka Gandhi also interacted with some women, voluntarily helping in the reconstruction of roads and appreciated their commitment and motivation for extending a helping hand and contributing during the crisis.
Priyanka Gandhi, while interacting with the media at Manali, lauded the efforts of the people of the State who had come forward in this hour of distress by voluntarily contributing towards the Aapda Rahat Kosh to help the affected population.
"The people of Himachal have set an example for the Nation by uniting and coming to the forefront to help the affected families," Priyanka said. She also lauded the efforts of the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues who were on the spot for more than three days monitoring the relief and rescue operations.
Speaking about the plight of horticulturalists who have suffered in the monsoon rain fury in the state, Priyanka said, "Even the farmers and horticulturalists of the State have suffered enormous losses and the Centre should pay heed towards their plight as well. Some big industrial houses, dealing in fruit marketing, have reduced the price of the apple crop thereby causing losses to the horticulturalists. The centre has also reduced the import duty on the Washington apple, which will also directly affect the horticulturalists of the State, thereby causing losses to them. The Central leadership should also think about the benefits of the farmers and horticulturalists of the State."
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that during his recent visit to Delhi, he met the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi at the dinner hosted by the President for the members of G-20 Nations and spoke in detail about the damages to Prime Minister Modi.
“I again urged the Prime Minister to declare the calamity as a National Disaster”, Sukhu said. He said even the Union Minister, Nitin Gadkari has personally monitored the flood-hit regions.
The Chief Minister said that the State Government has taken a decision to pay for the rented accommodation for those who were staying in relief camps so as to lessen their sufferings. The Kullu Fruit Growers Mandal, Katrain, also presented a cheque of rupees five lakh to the Chief Minister towards the Aapda Rahat Kosh.
Himachal Pradesh Congress party in-charge Rajiv Shukla, State HPCC President Pratibha Singh, PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh, Sunder Singh Thakur, Bhubaneshwar Gaur, Ravi Thakur, Sunil Sharma and other senior officers of the district were present at the occasion. (ANI)