Himachal will take a year to rebuild infrastructure wrecked by heavy rains: CM Sukhu

Here are the complete details of the devastation and loss of life and property due to heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh. The data is from June 24 to August 16. So far 327 people have lost their lives in the state. 

(Input: Piyush Mishra)

Himachal Pradesh will take a year to rebuild the infrastructure wrecked by the heavy rains this monsoon but the state is up to the“mountain-like challenge”, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said. He said the estimated damage in the two devastating spells of heavy rain – this week and in July – is about Rs 10,000 crore.

Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla said that the state government is providing all possible help. "We are all engaged in providing all possible help at the earliest. SDM has been ordered to cut down the remaining trees to provide protection to the houses. Around 250-300 families are staying in this shelter home and community centre," he added. 

Two Nepalese nationals were killed and five others injured when a house collapsed at Helang near subsidence-hit Joshimath in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, officials said on Wednesday. There were seven people inside the two-storey house when it collapsed at around 8 pm on Tuesday. Rescue operations were launched immediately after the incident. One of them died on the spot while the other succumbed to injuries at a hospital early on Wednesday, they said. Five people have been rescued from the rubble of the house out of whom two are in a serious condition, he said.

Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, "I am on the way to Kangra. We have evacuated over 650 people there. Around 100 people are still trapped in Kangra, rescue operation is underway. Another body has been recovered in Shimla. The state has suffered a loss of around Rs 10,000 crores. It will take around 1 years for us to redevelop the infrastructure of the state"

The death toll in the rain fury in Himachal Pradesh rose to 57 on Wednesday with the body of a woman being pulled out of the debris of a collapsed Shiv temple near Summer Hill here, officials said. Heavy rains have battered Himachal Pradesh since Sunday, triggering landslides in Shimla's Summer Hill, Krishna Nagar and Fagli. "Rescue operations are going on in Summer Hill and Krishna Nagar areas and one body has been recovered from Summer Hill," Deputy Commissioner Aditya Negi told PTI. He said so far 13 bodies have been recovered from Summer Hill, five bodies from Fagli and two from Krishna Nagar. Ten bodies are still feared buried in the debris of the Shiv temple that collapsed on Monday. About 15 houses in Krishna Nagar have been vacated and the families have been shifted to safe places. Several others have vacated their homes themselves fearing slides due to incessant rains.

The water level of the Ganges flowing through Uttarakhand's Rishikesh has reduced over the past 24 hours, officials said today. According to officials, the water level of the river Ganga at the Parmarth Niketan Ghat has declined in the past twenty-four hours. The Lord Shiva statue near the Parmarth Niketan Ashram in the holy town was partially submerged in the river on Tuesday. Today the water level has decreased and reached below the lower portion of the stone sculpture, they said.

Himachal Pradesh: Operations have resumed in Indora of the Kangra district to rescue and provide relief to the victims of flood.

BS Rajput 14 NDRF second in command said, "According to information received, we have the proof of 21 victims here. Till yesterday we recovered 12 bodies. Today we got one more body, so 13 bodies have been recovered. We are using specialised equipment other than heavy machinery. We can't confirm when will the search be over because the bodies in the down area are spread over at least 2 km and we can't use machines there so rescue has to be done manually."

In the aftermath of the landslides in Shimla, the Indian Air Force on Tuesday airlifted 18 army soldiers in a single sortie, the official said.“A Chinook helicopter of Western Air Command airlifted 18 Indian Army personnel and a 3-Ton Mini Dozer in a single sortie for rescue efforts in areas affected by landslides near Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla today,” Indian Air Force said on Tuesday.

A nearly 157 per cent surge in rainfall over the past few days has resulted in extensive damage across Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Tuesday. The death toll due to the rain rose to 56 after one more body was pulled out of the rubble of a collapsed Shiva temple in Shimla while two people died in a fresh landslide in the city, officials said. Heavy rain has battered Himachal Pradesh since Sunday, triggering landslides and cloudbursts that blocked several roads and led to house collapse incidents. Sukhu chaired a meeting to review the prevailing situation in the state and emphasised that the Himachal government is fully committed to expediting restoration efforts on a priority basis. He also directed the officials to swiftly restore electricity and water supply schemes that have been affected by the torrential rain over the past few days, according to a statement issued here.

A person was found dead after a house collapsed near subsidence-hit Joshimath in Chamoli district, officials said today. According to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the incident occurred in Helang village on the Badrinath highway between Pipalkoti and Joshimath on Tuesday late evening. Kotwali Joshimath informed the SDRF that a two-storey house built near a crusher unit on the banks of the Alaknanda River had collapsed, with some locals feared trapped under the debris, officials said. The SDRF team reached the spot to find four people buried under the debris of the collapsed house. Subsequently, the SDRF team rescued 3 people and rushed them to a nearby hospital while another died on the spot. The victim's mortal remains were recovered from under the debris and handed over to the district police, officials said. According to the SDRF, seven labourers were present in the house when the incident took place. “Seven labourers were present in the house when the incident took place. Three of them were rescued and admitted to a hospital," an official said.

The death toll in the landslide that swept away three shops in Uttarakhand's Gaurikund on the way to Kedarnath on August 4 mounted to eight after rescuers on Tuesday pulled out the body of another victim, an official said. The body of a girl was found near the banks of the Mandakini river in Munkutiya, Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said. The death toll in the tragedy, in which 23 people had gone missing, has risen to eight.