After incessant rainfall in the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh for the past four days, over 190 roads have been closed in the state. Out of a total of 191 roads, a maximum of 79 are in Mandi while 38 are in Kullu. According to data released by the state emergency operation centre on Saturday, 35 roads are closed in Chamba and 30 in Shimla. Five roads have been closed in Kangra while two each are closed in Kinnaur, and Lahaul and Spiti.
Electricity, water supply, transport disrupted
Meanwhile, the weather department has issued a 'yellow' alert of heavy rainfall in the state till August 7. Besides, 120 water supply schemes and 294 transformers have been disrupted in the state, the centre said. Due to extreme weather, the Himachal Roads Transport Corporation (HRTC) has suspended bus services on 82 out of the total 3,612 routes, MD HRTC Rohan Chand Thakur said on Friday.
Rescue operation underway
The rescue operation to trace around 45 people resumed on Saturday. These people went missing after cloudbursts in three districts of Himachal Pradesh. A total of 410 rescuers from teams of the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), State Disaster Response Force, police (SDRF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), police and home guards are involved in the search and rescue with the help of drones.
Talking about the stranded tourists, state Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena had said that around 300 people stranded around Shrikhand Mahadev in Kullu were safe and locals were looking after about 25 tourists at Malana. Announcing immediate relief to victims, CM Sukkhu visited Samej and assured Rs 50,000 for victims and Rs 5,000 monthly rent for the next three months. Besides, gas, food and other essential items would also be provided by the state. Notably, 30 people are missing only from Samej village in Rampur.
The flash floods which were triggered by the cloudburst in Kullu's Nirmand, Sainj and Malana areas, Mandi's Padhar and Shimla's Rampur subdivision on Wednesday night claimed eight lives so far. Rain-related deaths in the state have reached 77 since the onset of the monsoon (July 27 to August 1). Moreover, the state has suffered losses amounting to Rs 655 crore, according to officials.
(With inputs from agencies)
