98% water supply schemes affected by rains restored in Himachal Pradesh: Deputy CM

Shimla, Sep 10 (PTI) Around 98 per cent of water supply schemes affected by heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh have been restored on a temporary basis, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said in a statement on Wednesday.

Appreciating the efforts of Jal Shakti department officers and staff who worked round-the-clock under adverse weather conditions, Agnihotri said a total of 12,281 water supply schemes were damaged, out of which 12,007 has been restored.

He said a total of 15,594 schemes including sewage, irrigation, water supply and hand pumps were affected in the state, amounting to an estimated loss of Rs 1,291.37 crore.

Giving the breakup, he said the total loss to the affected water supply schemes was estimated at Rs 925.85 crore. Around 2,624 irrigation schemes were affected, with an estimated loss of Rs 244.19 crore.

In addition, 115 flood protection works incurred losses to the tune of Rs 55.81 crore, 183 sewerage schemes sustained losses worth Rs 64.33 crore, and the damage to 391 hand pumps caused losses to the tune of Rs 1.20 crore, he added.

The deputy chief minister said that restoration of water supply and sewerage schemes remains the top priority of the government. PTI BPL RUK RUK