<p>Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to designate the rain-related catastrophe in the mountainous state a national disaster.</p>
<p>Sukhu was the only chief minister from a state where the Congress party is in power to attend a dinner for G20 leaders on Saturday that was hosted by President Droupadi Murmu.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-172257″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/theindiaprint.com-the-chief-minister-of-himachal-pradesh-asks-the-prime-minister-to-declare-the-stat.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com the chief minister of himachal pradesh asks the prime minister to declare the stat” width=”999″ height=”665″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/theindiaprint.com-the-chief-minister-of-himachal-pradesh-asks-the-prime-minister-to-declare-the-stat.jpg 275w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/theindiaprint.com-the-chief-minister-of-himachal-pradesh-asks-the-prime-minister-to-declare-the-stat-150×100.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 999px) 100vw, 999px” title=”The chief minister of Himachal Pradesh asks the prime minister to declare the state's flooding a national disaster 3″></p>
<p>“Had the privilege of discussing the grave consequences of torrential rains in Himachal Pradesh during my conversation with Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji after our G20 Summit dinner,” he said in a post on X on Sunday. In order to emphasize the gravity of the situation, I also sought a specific disaster aid package and emphasized the necessity to declare this catastrophe a “national disaster.”</p>
<p>Sukhu has been calling for the disaster to be declared a national disaster and a special disaster package to be announced along the lines of those offered in the wake of the Kedarnath and Bhuj tragedies. Sukhu had previously claimed that Himachal Pradesh had suffered losses to the tune of Rs 12,000 crore due to rain-related incidents this monsoon.</p>
<p>The chief minister had renewed his demand on September 4 and said that, if necessary, he will meet with Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss it.</p>
<p>Prior to this, the Congress-led administration in the hill state had filed claims for damages of Rs 6,700 crore that had occurred up till August 10 and given a thorough assessment of the monsoon season’s devastation to the BJP-led Centre.</p>
<p>This monsoon, there were two periods of intense rain in Himachal Pradesh. The first on July 9 and 10 resulted in extensive devastation in the districts of Mandi and Kullu. Shimla, the state’s capital, sustained significant damage as a result of the second spell that struck the Shimla and Solan districts on August 14 and 15.</p>
<p>Since the beginning of the monsoon on June 24 until September 9, 418 individuals have perished (265 in rain-related events and 153 in road accidents), while 39 remain missing, according to the state emergency operation center. According to it, the state has lost Rs 8,678 crore, and more estimates are coming in daily.</p>
