*Officials should provide maximum benefits to disaster affected people: Education Minister*
Education Minister Rohit Thakur visited Kotkhai subdivision today and took stock of the damage caused by heavy rains. While inspecting the disaster affected areas, he interacted with the local people and got to know about their problems.
He inspected the damage caused by the disaster in Gumma, Khaltu Nala, Bagain, Deori-Khaneti and Chashla-Deorighat areas. On this occasion, he said that there is a wide network of roads in the assembly constituency, which have suffered a lot of damage due to heavy rains.
The Education Minister said that about 95 percent of the roads in Kotkhai subdivision have been restored and the remaining routes will also be made operational soon, so that the produce of the gardeners can reach the markets on time. He said that there are about 300 roads under the Public Works Department in the area, which have suffered a loss of about Rs 170 crore so far. Out of this, the Theog-Hatkoti road alone has suffered a loss of Rs 40 crore.
* Repair work will start after apple season*
He said that after the apple season, the roads will be repaired, the construction of sheds will be done and other damages caused by the disaster will be compensated. At present, the priority is that the produce of the gardeners should reach the markets without any hindrance. He said that in this season so far, about 1.5 crore apple boxes have been delivered to the markets, which is about 60 percent of the total production. Arrangements are being made to successfully deliver the remaining 40 percent apples to the market.
* 37 Apple Collection Centers functional *
Rohit Thakur said that all the 37 apple collection centers of Kotkhai subdivision have been made functional. About 11 thousand metric tons of apples have been purchased through these, out of which 7 thousand metric tons of apples have been sent forward.
* Officials should provide immediate assistance to the affected people *
The Education Minister directed the officials to provide immediate relief and assistance to the disaster affected people. He said that the aim of the government is to provide maximum benefits to every affected family so that they can return to normal life. He also made it clear that any kind of negligence in relief distribution will not be tolerated and providing assistance to every affected person should be the top priority of the departments.
* Historic amendment in Disaster Relief Manual *
He informed that so far 8 houses have been completely damaged and 40 houses have been partially damaged in Kotkhai subdivision. Also, the state government has made historic amendments in the disaster relief manual, under which the relief amount has been increased significantly.
The Education Minister said that water and electricity supply has also been fully restored in the subdivision. He praised the officers for doing excellent work during the disaster and urged them to continue working in the same coordination in future so that life can be normalized soon.
On this occasion, former divisional president Motilal Derta, sub-divisional magistrate Kotkhai, officers from various departments, representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions and other dignitaries were present.
