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Kullu houses collapse: Three more bodies recovered; search underway for missing
Since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 20, disasters in the state have claimed 360 lives, including 197 deaths in rain-related incidents such as landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, drowning, lightning strikes, and other weather-triggered mishaps, while 163 fatalities were reported in road accidents, according to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA)
Three mutilated bodies have been recovered from the debris of houses collapsed due to landslide in Kullu’s Akhada Bazaar on Thursday, said officials on Friday, adding that one of the body is of a female while other two are males.
One woman was killed while six people were trapped after the collapse. The search to find the remaining three people by the NDRF and local administration is still underway.
The search is also on for the two persons buried under the debris in landslide on Wednesday.
Since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 20, disasters in the state have claimed 360 lives, including 197 deaths in rain-related incidents such as landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, drowning, lightning strikes, and other weather-triggered mishaps, while 163 fatalities were reported in road accidents, according to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA)
A big tree was uprooted in Shankli, Shimla, this morning, due to which three-four vehicles parked there were damaged.
524 Manimahesh pilgrims airlifted from Bharmour
With the weather clearing on Friday, the state government expedited the rescue operation for Manimahesh pilgrims stranded in the higher reaches of Chamba’s Bharmour.
Two IAF Chinook helicopters, engaged in the rescue operation, carried out 12 sorties between Bharmour and the Kariyan helipad in Chamba since 6.30 am, evacuating 524 devotees and transporting three bodies on Friday.
The rescue operation was necessitated as heavy rainfall in the hill state disrupted road connectivity between Chamba and Bharmour, making it difficult for the pilgrims to return. The annual Manimahesh Yatra, which began on August 16 and was to conclude on August 31, was temporarily suspended on August 25 following heavy rain and landslides.
Chamba deputy commissioner Mukesh Repaswal said that pilgrims reaching Kariyan were provided free onward transport by Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) buses to destinations, including Pathankot and Kangra. On Friday alone, more than 1,000 devotees were sent on their way in about 20 buses.
He added that, as per state government guidelines, free bus services have been available for pilgrims since August 29. So far, around 8,000 devotees have benefitted from the facility, with 185 HRTC buses deployed.
Earlier, 85 pilgrims had been airlifted to Chamba in 16 helicopter sorties on Wednesday, while the operation continued on Thursday and 35 pilgrims were airlifted through 7 helicopter sorties.
State government turns to World Bank for assistance
Having already faced losses to the tune of the 3,979 crore due to monsoon related damages, disaster hit Himachal government has turned to World Bank for assistance to help rebuild and rehabilitate the affected families.
“The state government has prepared a project worth ₹3,000 crore to obtain assistance from the World Bank for disaster management to help rebuild and rehabilitate the affected families,” said chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu after concluding an aerial survey of disaster-affected areas of Mandi and Kullu districts on Friday.
“We have not received any special package from the Centre. We are extending assistance to affected families from our own limited resource,” said Sukhu and lashed out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging them of politicising the disaster.
He said that the government had requested the Centre to provide one bigha of forest land to each affected family to help them resettle in safer locations. “As 68%of the state’s land was categorized as forest land and the state government cannot provide such land without Central approval,” he added and urged the BJP and its MPs to seek support of the central government to approve the allotment of one bigha of forest land per family, along with a special relief package.
Taking a dig at the saffron party, during his visit to disaster-affected areas of Kullu district, Sukhu said, “BJP leaders were active only on social media and they have done nothing on the ground for the disaster-hit people.”
The CM also inspected the damaged roads, bridges and private properties of local residents at Vashisth Chowk, Manali, Bahang and Old Manali. Also visited the devastation sites at Akhara Bazaar in Kullu.
He instructed the administration to accelerate relief and rescue operations. “The scale of devastation is much higher as compared to 2023,” the CM said.
The CM said that the government was also making every effort to transport the produce of farmers and orchardists from disaster-affected regions to the markets. “At present, the top priority of the government was to restore roads and ensure essential services such as electricity and water supply at the earliest.”
Govt needs to take effective steps instead of rhetoric: Jai Ram
Hitting back, former CM and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur accused CM Sukhu-led Congress government of “playing politics” in disaster. “CM’s entire focus is on cursing the central government instead of giving relief to the disaster-affected people. In the difficult time of disaster, instead of fulfilling his responsibility, the CM is talking about what is going on in social media,” said Thakur.
“We did not learn any lesson from the disaster of 2023. If we had taken effective steps after the last disaster and worked at many identified places, then the loss of the disaster could have been reduced to some extent”.
1,091 roads, including 4 National highways, closed
Meanwhile, on Friday 1,091 roads, including four national highways, remained blocked in the hill state.
It included 275 roads in Mandi district, 225 in Kullu, 201 in Shimla and 166 in Chamba district. While 70 roads are blocked in Sirmaur district, 41 are closed in Kangra and 35 in Una district.
In Mandi district, the Mandi-Kullu stretch of the Chandigarh-Manali national highway which was blocked since August 31 was restored for traffic on Friday evening. The stretch remained blocked due to shooting stones at Jhalogi, Aut and Dawada on Friday morning.
NH-305 and NH-3 remain blocked in Kullu district, while NH-505 and NH-05 are closed in Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts. As many as 2,838 power transformers and 509 water supply schemes also remain disrupted in the state.
Relief material air dropped in landslide-hit Kullu
As the road connectivity to the remote areas of district Kullu is disrupted due to heavy rains and landslides, a total of 21.20 quintals of ration and 24 tarpaulins were air dropped in the affected areas on Friday by the Indian Air Force’s MI-17 helicopter.
Deputy Commissioner Kullu Torul S. Raveesh said that the district administration is constantly monitoring the needs of the affected areas. “Along with this, arrangements have also been made to deliver relief material to other areas through road, head load and drones” said DC adding that the relief material was sent to Shagti, Maror, Sharchi and Bathar areas through six flights of Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopters from Bhuntar Airport.
Heavy rain spells likely on Sept 8, 9: MeT
The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Shimla office has predicted rainfall to continue in parts of Himachal Pradesh till September 11 with heavy rainfall spells at isolated places also likely on September 8 and 9.
According to the MeT department officials, light to moderate rainfall is likely at a few places till September 7 and on September 10 and 11 and at many places on September 8 and 9. Moreover, one or spells of heavy rain are also likely at isolated places on September 8 and 9.
The weather office sounded a yellow alert of heavy rain on September 8 in Una and Sirmaur districts, followed by a yellow alert in Bilaspur, Kangra and Solan districts on September 9.
Officials said that the maximum temperatures are likely to rise by 4-6 degrees during the next 24 hours. Thereafter, they are expected to rise gradually by 2-3 degrees during the next 3-4 days.
During the last 24 hours, the monsoon activity was normal over the state and light to moderate rain was observed at most places. The highest rainfall of 61.3 mm was recorded in Baggi, followed by Karsog (24.2 mm), Dhaulakuan (AWS) (18 mm), Bhuntar (16 mm), Jot (14.2 mm), Manali (13 mm), Naina Devi (12.8 mm), Jogindernagar (10 mm), Mandi (8.6 mm), Keylong (8.0 mm), Una (7.4 mm), Aghar (6.8 mm), Sangla (5.2 mm), Dharmshala (4.6 mm), Bharmaur (4.0 mm) and Bhareri (3.8 mm).
