The Himachal Pradesh government has declared the massive damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity. The entire hill state has been declared as a "natural calamity affected area" in view of the damage caused to human life and property due to heavy rains, a notification issued on Friday said. Heavy rains have lashed the hill state since Sunday, triggering landslides in several districts, including Shimla. Over 600 roads are still closed in the state, out of which 550 would be opened in the next three days.
India TV also asked the public about the cause of the disaster, 'What do you consider to be the main reason behind the massive devastation in Himachal Pradesh?' and gave 4 options - Illegal constructions, Melting glaciers, Cutting of mountains, All of the above.
Maximum people thought that the disaster was manmade and illegal construction was the main reason. However, there was a considerable lot who thought that all factors - illegal construction, melting glaciers, and cutting of mountains were responsible.
As many as 6,506 have participated in th poll. 42% thought Illegal construction to be the reason. 7% thought Melting glaciers, 17% for cutting of mountains and 34% were of the view that all the above reasons were responsible.
