Subsidised kerosene for flood affected areas of Uttarakhand

New Delhi: The flood affected people in Uttarakhand will be given subsidised kerosene as part of relief measures, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Thursday.

The quantum of subsidy on the cooking medium would be decided soon and the burden of the same would be borne by the Uttarakhand government, NDMA officials said. "Kerosene to disaster affected people is to be subsidised. The difference is to be borne from Chief Minister`s Disaster Relief Fund," said an official of the NDMA, which is coordinating the rescue and relief operations in Uttarakhand. The NDMA said Public Distribution System (PDS) will be utilised on priority. "If there is an additional cost of transportation of PDS, the same shall be met out of disaster relief fund.... "The government has taken a decision to provide food and essential commodities to all families in the affected villages, where the road connectivity is totally snapped, for a month or till such a time the road connectivity is restored," the NDMA said in a release. Cremation of bodies is taking place at different places. "Search operations are still going on in totally inaccessible areas by helicopters," it said. The families that have lost their houses in the disaster and donot have a place to stay would be paid Rs 1,500 per month for renting accommodation for their families for a period of six months, the NDMA said. There are 152 villages, which are cut off by the road, where food and essential supplies need to be dropped by helicopters. Of these, 72 villages are covered. Over 8,500 animals have also been reported missing, it said. About 6,000 labourers are working on restoration of roads which were affected in the flood that had hit the state on June 16. A total of 23,240 patients have been given treatment in hospitals in various locations. PTI