Uttarakhand floods: BJP Chief Nadda directs party state unit to employ members for aid

As Uttarakhand continues to battle the torrential rains and flood-like situation, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda on Wednesday spoke to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and took stock of the situation in the flood-affected state. Further, he also directed BJP's Uttarakhand unit president Madan Kaushik to utilise the party workers and health volunteers for carrying out relief and rescue operations throughout the state. 

Acting upon the instructions given by BJP chief Nadda, the state unit has already activated all the health volunteers which comprise 25,000 members who are trained to deal with any kind of pandemic situation. The volunteers will now carry out relief operations by providing medical services, food, and accommodation to the people who are stuck in isolated places, reported ANI. 

Apart from that, instructions for cancelling all scheduled programs of Uttarakhand BJP have also been given to the state unit to assure that it is reaching out to every person in need. 

Speaking about the same, Uttarakhand BJP President Madan Kaushik said that two control rooms have been set up in Dehradun and Haldwani respectively, where the health volunteers will come down and extend help.

Centre extends support to Uttarakhand amid floods and landslides

The central government has extended every possible support to Uttarakhand that is facing serious challenges due to heavy rainfall followed by floods and landslides. Concerning the same, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and took stock of the situation. Along with that, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will also arrive in Uttarakhand today, October 20. 

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government has already deployed rescue teams across the state which includes the army, multiple teams of the NDRF, and many others for carrying out rescue and relief operations.

Earlier on Tuesday, CM Dhami announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakhs for the families of those who died due to rain-related incidents. Apart from that, heavy landslides triggered by heavy rainfall have resulted in the blocking of roads and highways disrupting normal transportation. 

Speaking on the same, CM Dhami called it a "massive damage" caused due to the record-breaking rainfall witnessed in the last week. He further added that it will take time to bring things back to normal, due to roads being washed away followed by landslides, rivers flowing at high levels, collapsed bridges, and so on. 

Meanwhile, the death toll due to rain-related incidents climbed to 46 on Wednesday, as stated by the state government. 

(With Agency inputs)

Image: ANI, PTI