A spokesperson of the State Government said here today that the government was providing all possible assistance to the disaster-affected families in the state. An amount of Rs. 74.25 lakh was being provided as house rent to around 246 families till now, who were rendered completely homeless due to the disaster which shook many parts of the State during the monsoons. He said that 55 affected families were being provided house rent in both urban and rural areas in district Bilaspur which includes 44 families in Ghumarwin, nine families in Jhandutta and two in Bilaspur.
Nirmala Devi, a resident of Jhandutta, said that her house was damaged by the disaster rendering her family homeless and she had no place to live. In the hour of distress the state government made arrangements for her family to stay in a relief camp and now she has been shifted to a rented house. She apprised that the state government was providing her family a financial assistance of Rs. 5000 per month to pay the house rent. Along with this, free LPG connection and ration was also being provided free of cost by the State Government, she added. The same tale is told by Suresh Kumar of Bilaspur, who has admitted that a sum of Rs. 5000 was being given to him.
He said that 73 families who were staying in relief camps in Kangra district has shifted to rented accommodation, out of which 7 families are from Kangra sub-division, 13 from Jawali, 24 Nurpur, 11 from Dheera and 18 families are from Jwalamukhi sub-division. The state government was going to provide assistance of Rs. 21.90 lakh to these families as house rent, he added.
In Mandi district, house rent worth Rs 35.40 was being provided to 118 families. This includes 13 families in Thunag sub-division, 75 in Sarkaghat 10 in Dharampur, eight in Balichowki, nine in Jogindernagar and three families in Gohar sub-division.
Similarly, the families who have been completely rendered homeless in other districts and were staying in rented accommodation were also being provided financial assistance as per the fixed norms of Rs. 5,000 per month in rural areas and Rs. 10,000 in urban areas, stated the spokesperson.
Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said that those families, whose houses have been completely destroyed in the rain fury during the monsoons, and those who have not applied for or opted for shifting to rented accommodation can also apply for the same. He said that the State Government under the leadership of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had declared a special relief package of Rs 4500 crore to provide all possible assistance to the disaster-affected families.
