Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri yesterday announced that travel and goods transport through the Baglamukhi ropeway near Pandoh in Mandi would remain completely free of cost for the next seven to 10 days.
The decision is a major relief for the flood-affected residents of Seraj and Nachan areas in Mandi district, which have remained largely cut off due to heavy landslides and flashfloods following a cloudburst on June 30.
Agnihotri toured the disaster-hit areas in the district on Friday and Saturday and used the ropeway himself to reach remote locations.
He termed the ropeway as the “only lifeline” and said, “This is not a time for profit; this is a time for service.
The ropeway will remain free of cost until further orders and emergency use will also be allowed via phone requests.” Over 1,500 people have already benefited from this facility.
The Deputy Chief Minister reviewed the damage caused by flashfloods and said that a Rs 121-crore drinking water scheme in Seraj had been severely impacted. He added that statewide losses had crossed Rs 300 crore.
To expedite recovery, the Jal Shakti Department and the Public Works Department had been allowed to bypass traditional tendering norms and proceed with offline procurement and repair work. Local purchase of pipes had also been authorised to avoid delays.
He said that two Chief Engineers and four Executive Engineers had been deployed in Seraj to supervise restoration efforts. In the Tandi-Saroa area, clean drinking water was still a key concern and officials had been ordered to ensure urgent restoration of water supply, he added.
During visits to relief camps in Sharan and Bada villages, Agnihotri met the flood affected families and praised their resilience.
In Bada village alone, 42 homes had been marked in the red zone, including 16 completely damaged. All government rest houses under the Jal Shakti Department had been opened for sheltering the disaster-hit people.
Agnihotri also met Tanusha Thakur, a survivor who remained trapped under debris for five hours, and called her an “inspiration for the daughters of Himachal”.
He concluded his tour by assuring people that the state machinery was fully mobilised for rescue and relief in coordination with the Indian Army, NDRF, SDRF and the local administration.