Himachal Pradesh rains: The entire north region of India reeling under a flood-like situation due to incessant heavy rains. Hill states- Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have been the worst affected as several parts of these states are facing incidents of landslides and flash-flood. Social media platforms are flooded with horrific videos. One such video came from Manikaran, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh in which a famous religious shrine – Gurdwara Manikaran Sahib’s premises are seen flooded.
Meanwhile, there was no let-up in the monsoon fury in Himachal Pradesh on Monday with flash floods and landslides claiming 18 lives over the past two days, affecting most hydropower projects and destroying property worth hundreds of crores of rupees. Officials said over 300 tourists and local people are stranded in Chandertal, Pagal Nallah and other places in Lahaul and Spiti, while teams of National Disaster Response Force, police and home guard rescued 515 labourers from waterlogged slum areas at Lalsingi in Una district.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said efforts are on to rescue the 300 stranded people, and they could be airlifted as the weather clears. Power and water supply has been snapped in several areas. Chief Minister Sukhu said an assessment of loss is underway and it is estimated to be in the range of Rs 3,000-Rs. 4000 crore, according to a government statement. A preliminary estimates by the State Emergency Operation Centre, however, pegged the loss at Rs 785 crore.
It reported 18 rain-related deaths since Sunday morning. Officials said around 800 roads are still closed in the state. According to transport department officials bus services on 1,255 routes of the Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) have been suspended and 576 buses are stranded at different places on route. Most hydropower projects have suspended production due to rise in silt level. The Chandigarh-Manali National Highway is blocked due to landslides and flooding at multiple places. The Shimla-Kinnaur Road is also closed for vehicular traffic due to slides and falling of rocks.
The Shrikhand Mahadev Yatra in Kullu has also been terminated. Six pilgrims have died since the beginning on this season of the trek. The Kullu administration has also announced a two days public holiday in the district on July 10 and 11. The state government has cancelled the leave of all field officers and asked them to report for duty immediately.
Landslides claimed four more lives in Shimla district alone on Monday. Three people died after a landslide struck a house in Theog subdivision of Shimla on Monday morning.