Himachal in Crisis: Shanta Kumar Urges Centre to Sanction ₹5,000 Crore in Emergency Relief
As Himachal Pradesh reels under the weight of one of its worst natural disasters in decades, a single voice has risen above the silence—Shanta Kumar, senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister, has stepped forward to speak up for the people of Himachal Pradesh.
In a heartfelt letter to the Prime Minister, Shanta Kumar has urged the Centre to declare the calamity in Himachal a national disaster and release ₹5,000 crore in emergency relief. His appeal is not just a request—it’s a moral indictment of the elected representatives who have remained passive while their constituents suffer.
“Reading the news of Himachal’s devastation breaks my heart,” he wrote. “My eyes well up, and everything turns dark for a moment.” His words reflect the pain of a state where cloudbursts, landslides, and floods have left hundreds dead, thousands homeless, and entire communities cut off from basic services.
Since June 20, Himachal has been battered by extreme weather. Roads have vanished, bridges collapsed, and homes turned to rubble. The scale of destruction is staggering—thousands of crores in losses, and the trauma of displacement and loss etched into every valley and village.
What makes Shanta Kumar’s intervention even more striking is his proposal to tap into ₹2 lakh crore of unclaimed funds lying in banks and LIC accounts—money that has no legal heirs and could be used to rebuild lives. He has sent this proposal to the Prime Minister, along with a detailed list of these funds, calling it a national resource in a time of national need.
He didn’t stop there. Shanta Kumar has also written to key Union Ministers—Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Jagat Prakash Nadda, and Nirmala Sitharaman—urging them to meet the Prime Minister and push for immediate action. He has reached out to all seven MPs from Himachal, asking them to unite and demand that at least ₹5,000 crore be released from these unclaimed funds for disaster relief.
His message is clear: leadership is not about holding office—it’s about holding responsibility. In a time when silence has become the norm, Shanta Kumar’s voice is a reminder of what public service truly means.
