Dhumal visits fire affected Malana village

Kullu, Jan 6 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today visited the fire affected village of Malana in Kullu district to take stock of the relief and rehabilitation measures taken by the district administration to provide shelter and other essential commodities to the affected families.

The state government would spend a sum of Rs. three crore initially to rehabilitate and resettle the affected families of the village, he said while reviewing the situation after a devastating fire burnt over 100 houses in the world's oldest democracy and rendered over 148 families homeless and destroyed property estimated to be hundred thousand yesterday.

Mr Dhumal also handed over a cheque of Rs 85 lakh to the Kullu Deputy Commissioner as immediate relief to the families who had lost all their personal belongings in the incident.

Every affected family would be provided a sum of Rs 65,000 for the reconstruction of their houses according to the traditional architecture, he said.

He said other possibilities would also be explored to provide additional relief to these families to construct their houses under the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojna.

''State Forest Corporation would be asked to supply timber wood to the affected families for which necessary funds would be made available by the government.

Temples of prominent shrines of Jamlu Devta, Atharah Karadu Devta and two temples of Renuka Mata those burnt in the fire would also be restored to its original architecture and committees would be given Rs 2.50 lakh each to restore construction of historical temple in its original traditional architecture,'' he said.

The Chief Minister said the district administration would provide 15 rooms in Vaishno Devi Temple at Kullu for providing shelter to the affected families during this winter.

The government would construct a community cowshed in the village for the protection of domestic animals from the extreme cold conditions during the winters, he said.

He also thanked the Sain Foundation for donating a sum of Rs 12.60 lakh, 401 blankets, 50 quilts and tents.

Referring to the assistance received from Everest Power Company, which is executing the Malana II hydroelectric power project, he said it would also donate a sum of Rs 20 lakh besides GI sheets for the construction of temporary sheds for the affected villagers.

UNI XC AS HS MMS1743