Haryana government to rebuild 25 villages in Uttarakhand

Haryana, June 25: The Haryana government has promised its help to rebuild at least 25 villages in Uttarakhand, which were devastated by the flash floods and the landslips that ravaged the hill state.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said he had made the offer during his meeting with his Uttarakhand counterpart Vijay Bahuguna in Dehradun.

He said the 1,044 stranded pilgrims hailing from Haryana had been well taken care of at the relief centres opened by the Haryana government in Dehradun, Rishikesh and Haridwar. And most of them are now safe and well.

Also, all efforts are being made to ensure the safe return of the stranded pilgrims to their respective places. And Hooda said he had received a phone call from Swami Dharam Dev on Sunday informing him about the 188 people stuck at Badrinath and they had since been brought to the Army camp.

According to the CM, after calling on Bahuguna, he had placed his official chopper at the disposal of the local authorities for undertaking rescue and relief operations. And some 65 stranded people had been air-lifted to safer areas, he said.

Hooda said the Haryana government and the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) had offered to provide aircraft for carrying out the relief operation. But the Uttarakhand Government did not accept the offer since the topography of the region would not allow the aircraft to touch down.

And the CM said that till Sunday, a total of 92,000 persons had been evacuated to the safer areas and the search was on for those still stranded there.

OneIndia News

(with agency inputs)