Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday conducted an aerial survey of the districts of Kullu, Mandi, and Lahaul-Spiti to assess the damage caused by relentless rains triggering floods and landslides during the last three days.

The Chief Minister visited various affected areas, including Kullu,  Bhuntar, Sainj, Kasol and  Kheerganga in Kullu district.

He also interacted with the people who suffered losses due to floods and expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and assured them that every possible assistance would be provided by the state government and immediately announced a relief of rupees one crore for the area.

He said six helicopters had been deployed to carry out rescue operations and evacuate the stranded tourists and local residents.

The first helicopter sortie took off in the morning to rescue stranded people at Chandertal but had to return back due to adverse weather conditions, he said, adding that however, the authorities were prioritizing the evacuation of the elderly and sick from Chandertal and the teams have left for the site.

As the flash floods had severely disrupted the communication network in the affected areas two satellite phones have been provided to the local police personnel at Sainj for communicating during an emergency.

The Chief Minister has assured the residents that all out efforts were being made to restore these services at the earliest.

During a media interaction at Bhuntar airport, Sukhu said that efforts were underway to restore the power supply in the district as soon as possible.

Once the power is restored, the drinking water schemes will also be made functional, he added.

He said that Deputy Chief Minister, Mukesh Agnihotri, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, and Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Sanjay Awasthi have personally visited the affected areas to assess the situation in Mandi district and the government was actively working to assist the affected.

Seven persons were rescued and brought to Bhuntar. Airlifting of stranded tourists and locals has commenced, and efforts were being made to ensure the supply of essential commodities to those still stranded, he said.

“I have held discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President, Mallikarjun Kharge, BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda, senior Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, and other prominent leaders and all of them have assured him of providing the necessary assistance for which I express my sincere gratitude to all especially the Prime Minister,” said Sukhu.

Acknowledging the magnitude of the disaster, he emphasized that the restoration work would take some time as soon as the weather normalizes.

Steps were being taken to restore the roads blocked by landslides and alternative routes were being explored to resume the traffic at the earliest.