Priyanka Gandhi urges the Union Government to announce  Himachal Rain disaster a National Calamity

While visiting the rain-affected parts of Kullu, Manali, and Mandi districts today AICC general Secretary Ms. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that the Union Government should announce HP’s Rain disaster as a National Calamity and should not discriminate against Congress-ruled states. Ms Vadra said that she had interacted with the people of the state and she found that the state could not able to compensate for the loss rendered by the recent rain tragedy with its own sources and the Union Government should immediately announce this as a National Disaster. Ms Vadra said that the magnitude of the rain effect was so profound that state resources would fall short. She said that apple growers are being discriminated against by the central government. Additionally, the Modi-led center government has reduced import duty on the US apple from 35 percent to 15 percent against the interest of lakhs of apple growers in Himachal Pradesh. She said that a number of apple growers are also concerned over the anti-farmer decision of the center as corporate houses buying apples in the open market in the state are trying to monopolize prices by cutting the prices of apple boxes.

She hailed the people of the state for coming forward and generously contributing to state calamity relief and Apada Kosh however that would not be enough without the generous support of the central government. 

All supporting the claim made by Ms. Vadar to declare the Himachal Pradesh disaster as a national calamity Mr. Sukhu said that during his recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G-20 dinner hosting Ceremony he also flagged up the issue with the prime minister. Mr Sukhu said that the Prime Minister had assured him that he would do the needful. During the Ms Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s flood-affected Manali, Kullu, Mandi, and Solan visited the AICC general sectoral Rajiv Shukala, The congress state chief Ms. Pratibha Singh was accompanied here along with the others.