Six people, including three members of a family, were killed and 13 were feared missing after cloudbursts triggered landslides and flash floods in Mandi and Chamba districts on Saturday.
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Eight members of a family were missing after a landslide hit a house at Kasan panchayat in Gohar sub division of Mandi district. The house is said to be that of local panchayat pradhan Khem Singh. Rescue teams were finding it difficult to reach the spot as the road connecting the village was blocked due to a landslide.
Gohar sub divisional magistrate (SDM) Raman Kumar Sharma rushed to the spot to supervise the rescue work.
The body of a girl was recovered, while four members of a family were feared drowned in a flash flood at Bagi Kataula village in the Drang area of Mandi district.
Families relocated to safer places
Rivers and streams were in spate in Mandi district. The Beas and its tributary were flowing near the danger mark.
The district administration has shut all educational institutions for a day. Mandi deputy commissioner Arindam Chaudhary said the decision was taken due to heavy rain and blocked roads.
{{/usCountry}}The district administration has shut all educational institutions for a day. Mandi deputy commissioner Arindam Chaudhary said the decision was taken due to heavy rain and blocked roads.
{{/usCountry}}There were reports of flash floods at Son Khud in Dharampur sub division of Mandi. Dharampur bus stand was also inundated.
The Mandi-Pathankot, Mandi-Jalandhar and Chandigarh-Manali highways were blocked for traffic.
Three of family killed in Chamba
Three members of a family died after a landslide hit their house at Banet village in Chowari sub division of Chamba district, said director, State Disaster Management Authority, Sudesh Kumar Mokhta. The Chamba DC has ordered all educational in Dalhousie, Sinhuta and Chowari to remain closed in the wake of the heavy downpour.
At least 15 people have been stranded at Kheri village in Sujanpur sub division of Hamirpur district after their houses were submerged due to flood in the Beas river. The district administration has launched a rescue operation.
In Kangra, a nine-year-old boy died at Gorda village of Shahpur sub division after a landslide hit a house. Another person died at Lahar village of Dheera sub division due to the landslide.
A portion of Chakki railway bridge on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar narrow gauge line was swept away by gushing waters of the Chakki rivulet, a tributary of the Beas.
Rajiv Gandhi Government Medical College, Nagrota Bagwan, was also hit by a landslide. A retaining wall collapsed and there was threat to hostels, prompting the authorities to shift the students to safer places.
Half a dozen shops were damaged and the Mandi-Pathankot highway was blocked after a landslide in the Shahpur area.
Traffic on the railway line is already suspended indefinitely since pillars of the bridge developed cracks earlier this month.
The Kangra deputy commissioner visited Nagrota Bagwan and efforts were on to divert a rivulet, which flowed in the town. Schools remained closed in Kangra and Kullu. The Jaisinghpur Government College building was also inundated in the flood waters.
In Jogindernagar, an under-construction road bridge collapsed due to the flash flood in a stream.
Widespread heavy downpour, Kangra gets 346mm rainfall
Kangra was the wettest place in the state, recording 346.6mm of rainfall, followed by Dharamshala 333mm, Mandi 119.6mm, Palampur 113mm and Dalhousie 111mm. Sundernagar got 77.7mm of rainfall, Kufri 68mm, Berthin 60mm, Shimla 57.7mm and Narkanda 41mm.
CM, Nadda express grief over loss of lives
Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur and BJP national president JP Nadda, who is on a two-day visit to the state, expressed grief over the loss of lives in the natural calamities.
The CM said that teams of NDRF and state forces have been rushed to the spots to undertake relief and rescue.