51 schools destroyed, 1,057 partially damaged due to heavy rains: HP government in assembly

DHARAMSHALA: Fifty-one school buildings were destroyed and 1,057 partially damaged due to heavy rains in the monsoon season this year in Himachal Pradesh and the total loss is estimated at Rs 69.27 crore, education minister Rohit Thakur informed the assembly Tuesday.

Replying to a query by BJP MLA Vinod Kumar during the Question Hour, he said the completely destroyed buildings would be reconstructed on priority and the department has sought additional funds for this. The construction of partially damaged buildings would be taken up in a phased manner, the minister said, responding to a supplementary question by leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur.

Rohit Thakur said the damaged buildings would be surveyed and the renovation of unsafe buildings would be done on priority as conducting classes in these buildings can pose a risk to students. As many as 19,101 students are enrolled in these schools, he said. The Parwanoo Industrial area in Solan district would be connected to National Highway 5 and a Detailed Project Report (DPR) with an estimated cost of Rs 2.62 crore has been prepared, public works minister Vikramaditya Singh told Vinod Sultanpuri of the Congress in reply to a question.

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Revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi informed the House that 752 cases of providing two or three 'biswa' land to landless people to construct houses were pending. One biswa equals 125.42 square metres. Replying to a question put forward by BJP MLA Jeet Ram Katwal, he said the highest number of 273 pending cases are in Una district, followed by 217 cases in Mandi, 114 in Solan, 42 in Chamba, 39 in Bilaspur, 36 in Kullu, 14 in Kinnaur, 12 in Shimla and five in Kangra.