Bilaspur landslide: BJP should stop politicising disaster, says Vikramaditya
As many as 16 people were killed and two injured, after a private bus was struck by a massive landslide in the Bhallu area in Jhandutta tehsil of Himachal Pradesh’s Bilaspur district on Tuesday evening
After Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) targeted the state government for “failing to act” on prior warning regarding the hill collapsing in Bilaspur that left 16 dead, public works department (PWD) minister Vikramaditya Singh urged the Opposition not to politicise the disaster.
As many as 16 people were killed and two injured, after a private bus was struck by a massive landslide in the Bhallu area in Jhandutta tehsil of Himachal Pradesh’s Bilaspur district on Tuesday evening.
Responding to the opposition’s allegation, the PWD minister said , “The Leader of Opposition should refrain from politicising such a tragic situation. If any prior warning regarding the landslide-prone area was communicated to the PWD department, we will ensure a departmental inquiry. However, it must be understood that such incidents are primarily due to heavy rainfall and water saturation in the hills.”
Emphasizing on unity during times of crisis, the minister added, “We respect the Leader of Opposition, but blaming the government or the PWD without proper basis during a natural calamity is neither fair nor responsible. This is a time for collective support, not politics.”
Vikramaditya’s statement comes a day after chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had termed the allegations that local authorities were warned about the risk of the hill collapsing as “false and baseless”.
Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday had said, “Many people of the area said that this location had already become dangerous. Numerous complaints were lodged with the PWD by local residents. They demanded that the mountain be repaired so as to avoid any mishap. Despite these complaints, no action was taken. This raises the question: why did the department remain silent despite repeated complaints? If the complaints had been investigated and action taken, this accident would not have occurred. There are still several areas around the site that appear extremely dangerous. Repairs are essential to prevent such incidents in the future. An investigation should also be conducted into the entire incident to determine why action was not taken despite repeated complaints.”
