Rain, thunderstorm in parts of Himachal, 3 national highways closed

Shimla, Sep 15 (PTI) Rain lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh on Monday while some areas witnessed thunderstorms as 493 roads, including three national highways, remained closed for traffic.

Jogindernagar received 56 mm of rain in the past 24 hours till Monday evening followed by Palampur 48 mm, Pandoh 40 mm and Kangra 34.2 mm, the local Met office said.

Meanwhile, Nagrota Suriyan was lashed by 30 mm of rain, Mandi 27.5 mm, Sarahan 18.5 mm, Murari Devi 18.2 mm, Bhareri 17.6 mm and Karsog 17 mm, it said.

Thunderstorms were witnessed in Kangra, Jot, Sundernagar and Palampur while gusty winds were witnessed in Reckong Peo and Seobagh, the Met added.

The Attari-Leh stretch of National Highway-3, Aut-Sainj section of NH-305 and Amritsar-Bhota stretch of NH-503A were among the 493 roads that remained closed for vehicular movement, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).

The centre added that 352 power transformers and 163 water supply schemes have been disrupted, A total of 409 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. Among those killed, 180 people died in road accidents.

So far, the state has suffered a loss of Rs 4,504 crore, the officials said.

Himachal received an average rainfall of 991.1 mm during the ongoing monsoon season from June 1 to September 15 against the normal rainfall of 689.6 mm, an excess of 44 per cent. PTI BPL NB NB NB