n The vice president of the state unit of Congress party, Surya Kant Dhasmana has accused the state government of failing miserably in providing timely relief to people suffering from the natural disasters. He said the recent incidents of cloud bursts, flooding and landslide in the state have exposed serious flaws in the disaster management machinery of the state. Dhasmana told The Pioneer that Uttarakhand is the only state in the country which has a separate ministry of disaster management but during disasters the whole machinery has failed to function properly. “In the recent incidents it has come to the notice that administration has failed to react in a manner it should have and the relief operations have got delayed. Interestingly, Chief Minister himself holds the disaster management portfolio,’’ he said.
The Congress leader said that after receiving information about Ghat tragedy on Monday morning, he rang up Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh and told him about the destruction in Ghat. “I told him about Ghat and informed him that dozens of houses have been destroyed in Doodhli. I also informed him that SDRF personnel and local administration has not reached the site of destruction. He assured me to take appropriate action,’’ he said.
Dhasmana added that the CS later informed him that the district magistrate of Chamoli was about to leave the district but she was asked immediately to go back to the district.
