Heavy rainfall in parts of Himachal, Dharamshala records 232 mm of rain

Shimla, Sep 14 (PTI) A fresh spell of rain lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday with Dharamshala in Kangra recording the highest rainfall of 232 mm, officials said on Sunday.

Thunderstorms were witnessed in Shimla, Kullu’s Bhuntar, Chamba’s Jot, Mandi’s Sundernagar, Bilaspur’s Murari Devi and Palampur and other parts of Kangra, they said.

Several houses and agricultural land were damaged in Khairi Gram Panchayat in Hamirpur’s Sujanpur as a result of torrential rain on Sunday, the officials said.

The devastation also led to damage to the main road and vehicles that were parked on the roadside, they said.

Palampur received 126.4 mm of rain followed by Murari Devi 79 mm, Sundernagar 77.6 mm, Jogindernagar 77 mm, Bhareri 54.4 mm, Ghagha 46 mm, Sujanpur Tira 44 mm, Bilaspur 40.2 mm, Kangra 30.7 mm, Mandi and Dhaulakuan 26.2 mm each and Sarahan 25 mm, the weather office said.

A truck and two motorcycles fell into a gorge near Bailey on Chamba-Dalhousie-Pathankot road in Chamba district due to caving in of the roads. However, no casualties were reported in these incidents.

About 568 roads, including three national highways -- the Attari-Leh stretch of NH-3, Aut-Sainj section of NH-305 and Amritsar-Bhota stretch of NH-503A -- remain closed in the aftermath of rains, the officials said.

Over 373 power transformers and 188 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 404 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents since the onset of the monsoon over the state on June 20 while 41 are still missing, it said.

The state has suffered a loss of Rs 4,489 crore so far, the officials said.

Himachal received an average rainfall of 983.4 mm during the ongoing monsoon season -- from June 1 to September 14 -- against the normal rainfall of 686.5 mm and an excess of 43 per cent.

On September 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the rain-affected Himachal Pradesh and announced Rs 1,500 crore financial assistance for relief and rehabilitation work. He also assured that additional aid would be provided based on assessments by Union ministers and an inter-ministerial central team. PTI COR NB NB