Heavy rains batter Himachal as flash floods, landslides inflict casualties, cut off many areas

Shimla, Aug 28 (PTI) Heavy rains are wreaking havoc in Himachal Pradesh, leading to landslides and flash floods in multiple districts, resulting in casualties and leaving many stranded with little to no road connectivity and mobile services.

Loss of life in rain-related incidents has been reported in Chamba district in the past 72 hours, with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressing grief over casualties. The exact death toll is not known yet, as mobile services and road connectivity remain snapped in the district.

In Kangra's remote Bada Bhangal village, officials said flash floods in the Ravi river have washed away several government buildings.

"A primary and a high school building, the panchayat ghar, an ayurvedic dispensary and a civil supplies store that housed about 70 quintals of ration were washed away in lower Bada Bhangal on Tuesday," Baijnath Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Sankalp Gautam told the PTI on Thursday, adding that the village has been cut off from the rest of the state as two bridges were also swept away.

The village, at 7,800 feet, is accessible only by foot through high-altitude Thamsar and Kalihani passes and remains cut off from the rest of the state for four to six months during the winter.

"Houses along the banks of Ravi in lower Bada Bhangal were vacated as a precautionary measure. About 180 quintals of ration are en route to the village, but the roads are blocked. Essential items and medicines would be air-dropped if the need arises," the SDM said.

At present, about 300 local people and 150 nomadic cattle herders are present in Bada Bhangal and ration for about 10 days is available in the village, said Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Dharamshala, Shilpi Bekta.

Sending essential supplies and medicines by helicopter is a challenge as flights were not possible due to continuous clouds and fog on the Dhauladhar hills, she said, adding that a satellite phone has been sent from Baijnath to Bada Bhangal, and the panchayat pradhan is in constant touch with the administration.

Water is being released from the Pong Dam in Kangra district for the past one week, and people in low-lying areas near the Beas river in Indora and Fatehpur assembly constituencies have been shifted to safer places, and 947 people have been housed in four shelter homes, she added.

The flood in the Beas and Manalsu Nala in Manali has caused heavy damage between Manali and Kullu, and the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway has been washed away at eight places, leaving commuters helpless.

Manali city was cut off till the filing of the story as the alternate route connecting Manali via Naggar-Kullu was also blocked, and restoration works were underway to open the roads.

About 130 people, who were stuck in Manali's Tibetan Colony after gushing waters of Beas entered the area, were rescued late on Wednesday night by the police, officials said, adding that an NDRF team have rescued around 425 students and teachers stranded at Arni University campus in Kangra's Indora.

The Kullu district administration evacuated five patients by airlifting them from Stingri village in Lahaul-Spiti to the district hospital in Kullu for providing them immediate medical care.

Mandi Deputy Commissioner Apoorv Devgan on Thursday issued an advisory urging people not to spread misinformation and said that there is no official confirmation of social media posts claiming a large number of people and vehicles being buried in the landslide at Banala on the Chandigarh-Manali highway in the district.

The DC stated that a massive landslide occurred near Banala on Wednesday night, and the debris reached the river; work to remove it has been underway since early morning.

Earlier, the BJP MP from Mandi, Kangana Ranaut, on Thursday reportedly wrote on social media that heavy damage was caused by rain in Himachal Pradesh and expressed grief, saying that many people and vehicles were feared to be buried under the debris following a landslide.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), a total of 525 roads were closed across 11 of the 12 districts in the state. Out of the roads closed, 216 are in Mandi and 170 in Kullu.

About 1,230 power supply transformers and 416 water supply schemes have also been disrupted, the SEOC said on Thursday evening.

As moderate to heavy rains lashed parts of the state, Pandoh in Mandi district recorded 108 mm rainfall since Wednesday evening, followed by Bhareri 63.8 mm, Mandi 56.8 mm, Gohar 53 mm, Naina Devi 36.6 mm and Manali 25 mm. Thunderstorms lashed Shimla, Jubbarhatti and Sundernagar.

Between June 20 and August 27, at least 160 people have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh, while 38 have gone missing, according to the SEOC.

The state has witnessed 90 flash floods, 42 cloudbursts and 86 major landslides so far. It has incurred losses to the tune of Rs 2,753 crore in rain-related incidents, the SEOC data showed.

The local meteorological office has issued a yellow alert for heavy rains in isolated areas in four to ten districts of the state till Sunday. PTI BPL AMJ AMJ