Himachal CM receives Rs 21,000 cheque for "Aapda Rahat Kosh"

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], November 5 : Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday was presented a cheque of Rs 21,000 by Prateek Sharma from Chamba as a contribution towards 'Aapda Rahat Kosh (ARK)', a release said.
The Aapda Rahat Kosh 2025 is a disaster relief fund established by the Himachal Pradesh government to provide financial assistance through donations to restore the damages caused by the heavy monsoon in the hilly state.
According to the Himachal Government website, the disaster relief fund has been established with the primary objective of aiding in the restoration of damages caused by the heavy monsoon rains.
The relentless rains this monsoon have left Himachal Pradesh in ruins, with extensive devastation across the region. Vast areas have been severely affected, with roads, bridges, and houses destroyed, and essential services, including electricity, water, and telecommunications, disrupted.
Furthermore, the livelihoods of the local population have been gravely impacted. The ARK 2025 aims to provide vital support to the state government's ongoing efforts to bring about the restoration of normalcy in the affected areas.
The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh initiated this campaign to address the natural calamities that affected the state during this monsoon and to provide assistance to the public on a large scale.
Earlier, the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HPSDMA) partnered with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and Caritas India to deploy Nature-based Solutions to build resilience in the flood-battered district of Mandi, said the release.
The initiative, supported by the United Kingdom's International Development, is in response to the rising frequency and ferocity of monsoon hazards gripping the region.
The town of Dharampur, on the Son Khadd river, will serve as the project's pilot site. Dharampur faces recurrent flash floods that severely damage critical infrastructure. A September 2025 event damaged state-owned buses, nearby buildings, and a school.
This partnership sets out to protect communities and infrastructure with novel nature-based solutions that blend biodiversity with engineering. Approaches include the use of living vegetative walls and native plants to stabilise slopes. It will also install a flood early warning system.
"The conditions in Dharampur and Mandi are part of a larger worrying trend of increasing monsoon-induced hazards occurring throughout our region," earlier said Duni Chand Rana, Director and Ex-Officio Special Secretary for Revenue and Disaster Management of the Himachal State Government, who inaugrated a workshop.
"We need to ensure that these Nature-based Solutions are scaled with a community-centric approach."
The pilot represents a step forward in the proactive management of interconnected risks in a warming world. Since August, teams have surveyed vulnerable watersheds in Mandi and Shimla to map community vulnerability and identify key interventions.