Relief work in cloudburst-hit Leh suffers lack of funds

By Ashwini Shrivastava
26 Jun 2011 Leh (PTI) – Ten months after a deadly natural disaster claimed over 250 lives, relief and rehabilitation work being carried out by the authorities here is hitting a roadblock– due to paucity of funds. Piles of mud and stone are still lying at Choglumsar, which bore the major brunt of the cloudburst and flashflood, inside various houses, shops on the national highway to Manali and at several other places in and around the town. Excepting national highways, other link roads are awaiting their restoration in the city which were badly damaged in the disaster that struck on the intervening night of August 5-6 last year. […] The cloudburst had killed 257 people and damaged 1,448 households– 665 fully and 783 partially. […] Locals, however, refute all claims made by the government and cite several discrepancies. “I have yet not received any financial help from the government. We have not got any money in our bank accounts. We are constructing house on our own,” said Youchan Dolma, who lives in Saboo village near here. Her views were echoed by Stanzin Dolma, who lost his 12-year-old son in the disaster. “We need money to rebuild our lives. Government should help us in getting some sort of employment so that we can help our families,” Dolma said. […]

Relief Work in Cloudburst-Hit Leh Suffers Lack of Funds