Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has assured Rs 400 crore under the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) for the restoration of Roads to Himachal Pradesh.

The state has suffered a colossal loss due to rain fury that caused flooding and landslides in various parts of the state last month.

Gadkari along with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, former CM and Leader of Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur and Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh on Tuesday assessed the aftermath of the recent disaster that ravaged district Kullu.

They visited the flood-hit areas including Bada Bhuiyan, Deodhar, Shirad, Klath, and Aloo Ground Manali and interacted with the people affected by the calamity, besides seeking insights into their concerns during this challenging time.

Talking to the media, Gadkari assured that the central government will extend all possible help to the affected. “People of the state have suffered immensely and the situation was even worse than they would have imagined otherwise. There has been unprecedented damage to the roads, bridges and private property due to flash floods, landslides and cloudbursts triggered by heavy rains,” he said.

He assured that Rs 400 crore will be released so that repair and restoration works can be undertaken on war footing.

“The NHAI will also bear the cost of repairing the link roads up to one kilometer along the National Highways in apple belts,” he said.

He said: “Huge portions of National Highways and other roads have been swept by the furious flow of the river and a technical team has been constituted to study probable causes and take measures to prevent such occurrences in the future. The team will visit the flood-hit areas in three to four days to assess and take stock of the situation.”

Due to the accumulation of muck in the river bed, the river changed its course, hence adaptive measures will be taken to construct a concrete wall or channelize river beds wherever required, he added.

Seeking the cooperation of the state government in this direction, he said that the Union Ministry will bear whatever money is to be incurred on the repair and restoration of roads under the NHAI.

He also stated that falling stones and boulders from the mountains were rather common in hilly regions, always posing a threat to the commuters and to address the issue a comprehensive study would be conducted, and thereafter recommendations would be shared with the state government.

Gadkari said that 68 tunnels were being constructed in Himachal Pradesh at the cost of Rs. 12,500 Crore and the repair work of the Kiratpur-Manali four-lane will also be completed in the coming two to three months and will be inaugurated soon.

“A sum of Rs. 250 crore has been sanctioned for Bijli Mahadev Ropeway, the construction of which will commence soon,” he said, adding that approval has been given to Shahpur-Sihunta road to be built with an outlay of Rs 52 crore under CRIF and Rangas-Mehre via Bagchal road would also be constructed incurring an expenditure Rs 49 crore.

“It was for the first time in the history of Himachal that a disaster of such high magnitude struck the state. As the resources of the state were limited, the Union Government must extend help to Himachal generously at the earliest to aid relief and restoration efforts,” said Chief Minister Sukhu.

He expressed gratitude to Nitin Gadkari for accepting his invitation to visit Himachal Pradesh. The Chief Minister also appealed to the Leader of Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur to extend his wholehearted support in the hour of crisis and stand jointly to address the needs of the people.