An inter-ministerial team from the central government met Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday after visiting disaster-affected areas of the state to assess the extensive losses caused by this year’s heavy monsoon rains.
The Chief Minister said the state is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, particularly during the monsoon season, when heavy rainfall leads to frequent landslides, floods, and waterlogging. He stressed the need for national-level institutions to work together to develop more advanced forecasting systems to minimise damage caused by such events.
Dhami noted that excessive rainfall this year had inflicted significant damage across many regions of the state, resulting in both human casualties and the destruction of property. He underlined that incidents such as cloudbursts and landslides in the hill districts cause permanent damage to land, making it impossible to use those areas again for farming or construction. The Chief Minister emphasised the importance of formulating an effective long-term action plan to address these challenges.
The central team, led by Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs R. Prasanna, included Deputy Secretary Sher Bahadur, Superintendent Engineer Sudhir Kumar, Deputy Director Vikas Sachan, Chief Engineer Pankaj Singh, and Director Dr. Virendra Singh. After inspecting affected districts—Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Pauri Garhwal, Chamoli, Bageshwar, and Nainital—the delegation met the Chief Minister at the Secretariat to present its findings.
The team praised the state government’s relief operations, citing adequate arrangements for shelter, food, and on-the-spot medical care in relief camps as commendable. They also acknowledged the government’s decision to provide immediate financial assistance of ₹5 lakh to the families of the deceased and to those whose houses had been completely destroyed, noting that this had offered significant relief to affected communities.
In particular, the team appreciated the unique initiative of maintaining comprehensive data on all pregnant women in the districts and ensuring constant monitoring of their health and safe deliveries, suggesting that such measures could serve as a model for other states.
The central officials also flagged the issue of excessive silt accumulation in rivers due to landslides and flooding, warning that rising water levels could pose risks in the future.
Present at the meeting were Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan, Additional Chief Secretary R.K. Sudhanshu, Secretary of Disaster Management Vinod Kumar Suman, and Additional CEO of the State Disaster Management Authority Anand Swaroop.
