Fresh rains in Himachal

Shimla, Sep 12 (PTI) Light to moderate rains lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh, with the weather office issuing a yellow warning of heavy rains in isolated areas of the state in the coming two days, officials said on Friday.

Since Thursday evening, Mandi recorded 61.8 mm of rain followed by Sundernagar 52.4 mm, Kangra 43.7 mm, Dharamshala 23.5 mm, Kasauli 17.2 mm and Bilaspur 10.8 mm, the Met said.

Roads remained blocked in many districts in the aftermath of rains with 206 roads blocked in Kullu, while 156 were closed in Mandi district, they said.

Three national highways -- Attari-Leh road (NH 3), Aut-Sainj road (NH 305) and Amritsar-Bhota road (NH 503A) -- were closed for traffic in the state, officials said, adding restoration work is underway.

Over 800 power transformers and 364 water supply schemes have been disrupted in the state due to the recent floods and landslides, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).

A total of 380 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents since the onset of monsoon in the state on June 20. The state has suffered a loss of Rs 4,313 crore so far, officials said.

Himachal received an average rainfall of 961.3 mm during the ongoing monsoon season from June 1 to September 11 against the normal rainfall of 674.2 mm, an excess of 43 per cent. PTI BPL SHS SHS DV DV