Shimla (Himanchal Pradesh) [India], July 11 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visited All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bilaspur on Friday to enquire about the health and well-being of the passengers injured in a tragic bus accident near Namhol in the early hours today.

The CM met the injured and wished them a speedy recovery, and assured them of all possible assistance from the state government.

The Chief Minister also directed the hospital administration to ensure prompt and best medical care to the injured without any delay.

Currently, 32 injured passengers are undergoing treatment at AIIMS Bilaspur, while the driver has been admitted to the Civil Hospital at Markand. The ill-fated private bus carrying devotees was on its way back from Nurmahal in Punjab to Darlaghat.

Acting promptly, the district administration assisted in providing immediate medical attention to the victims and disbursed interim relief as per the norms to the injured.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani, Congress leaders Vivek Kumar, Pawan Thakur, Sanjeev Guleria and Gaurav Sharma, along with Deputy Commissioner Rahul Kumar, Superintendent of Police Sandeep Dhawal and several others.

Himachal Pradesh is badly hit by the recent cloudburst and heavy rainfall, which led to loss of life and property, especially in Mandi. In view of this, the CM asked for the centre's assistance in dealing with the tragedy.

Earlier, he visited the impacted areas, met families at rehabilitation centres, and sought central help to deal with the crisis.

Speaking to the mediapersons, CM Sukhu said, '... A massive disaster has struck the state in three assembly constituencies of Mandi district, caused by a cloudburst... Areas of the Seraj constituency have been affected the most... I visited the rehabilitation centres and spoke to many families affected by the cloudburst...'The Chief Minister stressed the need for a scientific evaluation of the disaster. '

'It is very important to study the kind of disaster that has occurred... I also spoke to the Union Home Minister regarding this, and I will also speak to the Science and Technology Minister regarding the reason for the increasing cloudburst...' he added. (ANI)