10 people, including Manimahesh trekkers, died in Chamba since Aug 24: Officials

Shimla, Aug 29 (PTI) Ten people, including those stranded at Manimahesh trek, have been killed in landslides, stoning, or drowning since August 24 in Chamba, officials said on Friday.

Eight people have sustained injuries and four went missing after landslides wrecked several places in the district.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), 916 roads were closed in the state.

The local meteorological office has issued an orange alert of heavy to very heavy rain in parts of Chamba, Kangra, and Kullu districts on Saturday, and Una, Kangra, Mandi, and Sirmaur on Sunday.

The deceased were identified as Dharshna Devi, Salochna, Kavita, Rekha Devi, Sagar Bhatnagar, and two children. The remaining three, Aman, Rohit, and Anmol, died due to lack of oxygen.

Satellite phones and police wireless have been the only mode of communication for the past three days in the region, Chamba Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Amit Mishra said.

Mobile networks have been restored in most parts now, except Bharmour, which has been the worst-hit part of the district.

Bharmour, where most of Manimahesh Yatra trekkers are stranded, remains cut off from the rest of the state due to landslides at many places, and is getting ration and other essential commodities airlifted there from Chamba town.

Local MLA Janak Raj alleged that people there were hard up for water and food and demanded helicopters be deployed to rescue the stranded pilgrims.

Meanwhile, videos of pilgrims walking on foot on a broken trail between Bharmour and Chamba surfaced online.

People in human chains were seen holding ropes for support to cross gushing drains and navigating steep climbs and slopes.

"There was no administration, no disaster management, even after the weather alert. People left their vehicles, two-wheelers and started walking. There was no road and mobile connectivity. Crumbling mountains and the furious Ravi roaring below, it was a difficult walk," a Chamba native, who returned from Bharmour after four days, said.

"Even now, thousands … are stuck from Gaurikund to Bagga in the hope that they will be rescued. The Bharmour to Kalsui road is almost destroyed, and airlifting is the only solution," he said.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday directed the Chamba officials to evacuate Manimahesh pilgrims on top priority.

He also directed restoration of communication services in other parts of the district, particularly in Bharmour.

Chamba administration is plying buses and taxis from Nurpur, Kangra and Pathankot depot to evacuate around 5,000 who had left on foot from Bharmour to Chamba.

Five sorties were made by helicopters and 25 people brought back to Chamba from Bharmour.

Revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi, who reached Chamba on Friday, said, "Our priority is to open the road so that the people stranded in Bharmour could go home. Roads would be opened on a war footing and in case it required time, people would be airlifted." Gushing sludge from a drain in Udaipur village washed away houses and government schools, the minister said.

A landslide and flash flood damaged three houses, burying two women in debris, in the Patarna village of Ani subdivision in Kullu district Friday morning.

After hours, rescuers brought from under the rubble a 50-year-old Sharda Devi, while a search for another missing was on.

Local villagers joined the rescue operation immediately after the incident and helped save the woman and some livestock.

Ani Sub-Divisional Magistrate Laxman Singh Kanet said the damaged houses belonged to Krishan Chand, Jai Singh, and Dharmveer.

Heavy rains in the hills of Lippa village in Kinnaur district triggered flash floods damaging agricultural lands, storage houses and water pipelines.

Also flooded were the Bhigti and Pejar streams, causing massive destruction in the area.

Two workers from Jammu and Kashmir, trapped under debris, were rescued by villagers.

Balwant Singh, a resident of Ajiwala village (Toka Nagla) under Paonta sub division was swept away in water from a flooded drain, while saving a cow.

The National Highway Authority of India has sanctioned a sum of Rs 100 crore for short term repair, a spokesperson said in a statement.

The Kiratpur-Manali corridor was completely washed away at ten locations on Kullu-Manali sections and partially damaged in five locations.

Around 500 tourists stranded near Manali were rescued and no tourist is stranded anymore, Lahaul and Spiti police said.

Jatton Barrage in Sirmaur district received 138 mm of rain in the state, the highest.

Nahan received 120.9 mm, Palampur 91.4 mm, Sandhole 77.8 mm, Paonta Sahib 75 mm, Kasauli 62 mm, Nahan 60.8 mm, Solan 57.8 mm, Gohar 55.6 mm, Bilaspur 50.4 mm, Murari Devi 48.4mm, Nagrota Suriyan 48.2 mm, and Kahu got 45.5 mm of precipitation.

Of the 916 roads closed, a maximum of 265 roads were closed in the landslide-hit Chamba district.

A total of 222 roads are closed in Mandi, 162 in Kullu, 96 in Sirmaur, 60 in Kangra, and 47 in Shimla.

Around 925 power supply transformers and 266 water supply schemes have been disrupted, the SEOC had earlier said.

Since June 20, when the monsoon hit the state, at least 164 people have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh, while 40 have gone missing, according to the SEOC.

The state has witnessed 90 flash floods, 42 cloudbursts and 87 major landslides so far.

It has incurred losses to the tune of Rs 2,774 crore in rain-related incidents, the SEOC data showed. PTI BPL VN VN