Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 9 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday visited the flood-affected areas of the Seraj Assembly constituency of Mandi district. He stated that the Mandi district was the most severely affected, with heavy losses reported in the Seraj Assembly constituency.

'Mandi has been the most affected. The disaster first struck the Dharampur assembly constituency. Nineteen families were saved, and the government has announced that it will provide them with Rs 5000 every month for rented accommodation. There have been heavy losses at Seraj, Karsog and Sainj. Seraj Vidhan Sabha area is the worst hit. I was on the tour today at the Seraj Assembly constituency and we will definitely discuss about this loss further.'

Heavy rains impacted Nachan, Karsog and Seraj constituencies. The badly hit areas are Janjehli, Thunag, and Bagsaid areas of Seraj constituency, which is the assembly constituency of Himachal Pradesh's Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister, Jairam Thakur.

Sukhu and Jairam Thakur jointly inspected the Thunag market area on Wednesday, which was severely affected by flash floods during the recent cloudbursts in the Seraj assembly constituency.

According to an official press release, both leaders met with the people who suffered due to this natural calamity and assured them of every possible help.

Speaking to the media, the Chief Minister stated that he will travel to Delhi to meet with the Union Ministers and will strongly advocate for a special relief package to rehabilitate and provide relief to the disaster-affected people.

The press release also mentioned that Sukhu visited the home of Budhi Raj, who lost his life during the flash floods, and assured the family of adequate assistance.

The students of the College of Horticulture and Forestry, Thunag in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district, which was severely impacted by torrential rains and flash floods, urged the state government to postpone their university examinations and consider relocation or merger of the college with safer campuses.

The devastating monsoon season in Himachal Pradesh has claimed 85 lives, with 54 deaths directly linked to rain-related disasters and 31 others lost to road accidents, according to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).

In its cumulative loss report, the SDMA confirmed that natural calamities such as landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, and drowning incidents have been responsible for the bulk of the fatalities. Mandi district remains the worst-hit, reporting 17 deaths from rain-related causes.

As per the SDMA, other severely affected districts include Kangra (11), Hamirpur (5), and Kullu, Chamba, Shimla, Sirmaur, Una, Bilaspur, and Kinnaur with lower but significant numbers.

The SDMA has also recorded 129 injuries and 34 missing persons in connection with these weather-induced disasters. (ANI)