Rain damage: Landslide strikes Himachal's Sirmaur, 2 killed in house collapse in Jaipur

New Delhi, Sep 6 (PTI) A landslide in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur Saturday morning shaved off a 200-metre swath from a hill, a house collapse likely triggered by rain killed a man and his five-year-old daughter in Jaipur, while in Uttarakhand, students hired a helicopter to reach their exam centre in the landslide-hit Munsiyari.  In Delhi, more than 70 families displaced by the Yamuna floods were forced to live in damp, mosquito-infested camps set up along the Delhi-Meerut Expressway near Akshardham.  Efforts to restore the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway were scuppered by early morning rain. The key road remained closed for the fifth consecutive day.  The landslide in Himachal's Noradhar's Chokker village endangered five houses. Their inhabitants, however, were rescued in time, officials said.

Locals said the landslide could likely have been caused by the bursting of an underground water source.

Videos of a gush of water carrying heaps of debris and locals crying in panic, asking people to stay away, went viral on the internet.

In Delhi, sitting outside a tarpaulin tent, Ganga Devi wondered where the poor should go.

"It is either demolition, or rain, and now the flood. We hardly earn Rs 300 to 400 a day by cleaning Delhi's garbage. Someone is a ragpicker, some clean drains, some sell flowers, where will we go now?" she asked.

The 6x8 makeshift camp stretches along the edge of the expressway, which has been transformed into a "home" for families who recently had to be evacuated from their jhuggis or kuccha houses near the Yamuna floodplains.

In Jammu and Kashmir, NHAI Project Manager, Ramban sector, Shubam said efforts were on to clear the 250-metre stretch of the highway in Thard in Udhampur district, which was buried under a hill.

"What we have gained during the day on Friday was washed away by intense half-an-hour rainfall this morning... we have mobilised the men and machinery and started the work afresh to ensure early reopening of the arterial road as soon as possible," the official told PTI.

He said they are expecting to clear the road later tonight or early next morning.

The rest of the highway – the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country – has been cleared for two-way traffic, the official said.

A house collapse in Jaipur's Subhash Chowk killed 35-year-old Prabhat and his underage daughter.  Prabhat was a native of West Bengal who worked in a local jewellery factory.  Deputy Controller of Civil Defence, Jaipur, Amit Sharma, said seven people were trapped under the rubble. While two of them died, five were rescued and shifted to SMS Hospital.

"It was a very old house... and 18-19 people were living there. A portion of the house collapsed due to dampness caused by rain. The rescue operation lasted about six hours," Sharma said.

Four B.Ed students from Rajasthan hired a helicopter to reach their exam centre in Munsiyari as landslides caused by heavy rain left many roads blocked across the state.

Hailing from Rajasthan's Balotra town, the students of Uttarakhand Open University had to reach R S Tolia PG College in Munsiyari to take the exam.  "When we reached Haldwani on August 31, we came to know that all the roads leading to Munsiyari were closed due to landslides. We thought we would not be able to take our exam," Omaram Jat, one of the students, said.

The Vaishno Devi yatra in Jammu's Katra remained suspended for the 12th consecutive day.  The weather office predicted moderate rain or thunder showers over a few districts of Jammu division towards late night or early morning hours.  The yatra was suspended hours before a landslide along the old track at Adhkuwari on August 26 claimed 34 lives and left 20 others injured. PTI TEAM VN VN