Govt directs temporary relief to hailstorm-affected families

SHILLONG, MAR 31: The state government today said it would soon come up with an adaptation policy as it directed immediate temporary relief after thousands of homes were damaged by a devastating hailstorm that hit the different districts in Meghalaya on Friday.

“We have asked the respective deputy commissioners to immediately provide temporary relief to families in the affected villages,” chief minister Conrad K Sangma told reporters after convening an emergency meeting here on Saturday.

The meeting to take stock of the situation was attended by cabinet ministers, chief secretary Y Tsering, additional chief secretary in-charge disaster management PW Ingty and other senior officials of the department.

As per preliminary report, Conrad said roughly, around 50 villages in four-five districts which include West Jaintia Hills, West Khasi Hills, East Garo Hills and North Garo Hills have been affected by the severe hailstorm.

Stating that about 600 households in Jaintia Hills region were damaged, the chief minister however said assessment on the extent of damages to houses, crops, livestock and other properties is being conducted at the moment.

“All deputy commissioners and block development officers (BDOs) have been asked to submit detailed assessment report for necessary action by the government,” he said while informing in some districts, local MLA has also taken the initiative to provide relief to the affected families.

Asserting that his primary objective is to provide immediate relief, Conrad said though no relief camp have been set up but the government is trying to ensure that tarpaulin, essential commodities and other relief materials reaches the affected families at the earliest possible.

Asked, the chief minister said that the state government has also felt the need to come up with an aggressive adaptation policy taking into consideration the impact of climate change on the environment.

“We have discussed the fact that climate is changing as we know the hails are getting bigger, we know the rain is coming more and we know the winds are becoming stronger. We felt that we need to sit and come up with very aggressive adaptation policy,” he said.

Pointing out that natural calamity is something which is not in anybody’s hands, Conrad however said that the government will try its best to come up with best policies and look into the matter with serious concern.

By Our Reporter