Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Thakur Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has welcomed the decision of the Minister for Housing and Urban development, banning construction of government buildings in the congested areas of the cities. He said
“In the wake of the disaster in the Uttranchal and Kinnaur it was important that a futuristic view about the populating the towns and hilly areas was taken”
Congress President said that all the major Hill towns like Shimla, Dharamshala, Dalhousie, Kasauli now needed to shift their construction zones to satellite areas. He said that the hill towns needed to build vertical structures instead of horizontal growth as this could also help in decongesting the towns in proper and safe areas.
Sukhu said that the state needed to come up with structures that were earthquake resistant and their design also needed to be such that at the time of any eventuality these buildings were equipped for the safety of the people inside them. Sukhwinder said that new satellite towns would only come up when all the facilities and government offices and hospitals would be available nearby. So the planning to decongest the towns needed to be seriously thought and implemented soon.
Congress president also appealed to the people to help the government by aiding in decongesting of the towns by moving to safer locations and insisted that new houses be built using good techniques and technical specifications. He said that the massive destruction in Uttrakhand had already shown how unplanned construction could be lethal for the people.
He also urged the state government to strengthen the disaster management functioning by coordinating with the centre government. He said that the disaster management team needed to be always prepared to function in the wake of such tragedies.
