A fresh landslide hit Kullu’s Akhada Bazaar, leaving one person dead and three injured, while six others, including 5 Kashmir residents and one local woman, are feared trapped after two houses collapsed on Thursday morning.
The deceased has been identified as Maharaj Lok, 30, hailing from Bandipura in Kashmir.
The injured have been identified as Radhika, 73, Kamlesh, 60, and her son Abhinav, 32. Radhika and Kamlesh are being treated at regional hospital in Kullu and Abhinav has been referred to AIIMS Bilaspur.
Six people who are still buried under the rubble have been identified as Suman Devi, a local, Hussain, 45, Rashid Sheikh, 47, Gulgar Ahmed, 51, Tahir Sheikh, 23 and Sajjad Ahmed Wani, 33, all from Kashmir, who were working as labourers.
Deputy commissioner Torul S Raveesh said the rescue operation was underway as six people, including a woman, were feared buried in the debris when the houses collapsed in the Inner Akhara Bazaar area at 6.45am. The three people rescued soon after the incident were rushed to the hospital, Raveesh said adding.
“I got up around 6 am and was preparing tea in the kitchen when I heard stones hitting the house and in the blink of eye I was buried under the utensils and rubble, ” said injured Radhika, adding that my husband shouted and heard my voice and I was rescued.
{{/usCountry}}“I got up around 6 am and was preparing tea in the kitchen when I heard stones hitting the house and in the blink of eye I was buried under the utensils and rubble, ” said injured Radhika, adding that my husband shouted and heard my voice and I was rescued.
{{/usCountry}}“Three persons were rescued and shifted to hospital while search is underway for six more buried under the debris,” said NDRF assistant commandant Santosh. “We were already engaged in a nearby site and rushed to the spot in 10 minutes and rescued three people on time, “ he added.
The victims are residents of Tulail, Bandipora, who were working as labourers in Himachal.
In a post on X, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister office expressed grief over the loss of lives in Kullu and assured all possible assistance is being extended
Since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 20, disasters in the state have claimed 355 lives, including 194 deaths, due to rain-related incidents and 161 in road accidents, according to the SEOC while 49 are missing. The state has suffered losses to the tune of ₹3,787 crore so far this season, according to official data.
Following Thursday’s landslide, rescue teams from the district administration, NDRF, home guards, fire department, and police reached the spot and launched a search operation.
Continuous heavy rainfall is hampering rescue efforts, making the operation challenging, the DC said. “The houses in the affected area have been evacuated for safety reasons. A temporary rehabilitation center has been set up for the affected families in the local gurdwara where they are being provided food and other essential facilities,” the DC added.
Another landslide in Devdhar of Kullu also posed a threat to 5 houses. They were evacuated on Thursday.
In a similar incident in the Akhada Bazaar area of Kullu, two persons including an NDRF jawan are feared dead after two houses collapsed following a landslide late on Tuesday night. They have been identified as NDRF jawan Narinder, 37, and Kashmiri youth Waqar Ahmad, 24. Rescue operations are underway.
“The national highway (to Kullu) remains closed due to unclear weather with multiple points blocked though connectivity from Aleo to Manali has been restored. The road to Manali has been partially restored for limited, urgent movement, but around 170 roads remain blocked in the district,” the DC said.
Drainage system collapsed: MLA
Kullu MLA Sunder Singh Thakur, said, “Besides continuous rains the failure of the drainage system also led to the landslides. The drainage system has failed as people are not allowing laying of drains which is leading to seepage making Inner Akhada Bazaar vulnerable. Under flood mitigation ₹ ₹1 crore was sanctioned by the Urban bodies department but work is yet to start to check such incidents from recurring.” Inner Akhada Bazaar in two days has seen two landslides.
1,212 roads, including 4 NH, blocked
The State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said 1,212 roads were closed in the state, including four national highways (NH).
NH-3 from Mandi to Dharampur was blocked in Mandi and Kullu, while NH-5, also known as the Old Hindustan-Tibet road connecting Kalka to Kinnaur, was blocked in Kinnaur. NH-505 from Khab to Gramphu in Lahaul-Spiti was blocked and NH-305 from Aut-Sainj was blocked in Kullu due to landslides.
The Shamti bypass on the outskirts of Solan city has been closed for vehicular traffic after the road near Shayothal village caved in posing threat of slides to Audna and Shayothal villages. Executive engineer, public works department Ravi Kapoor said that the road has been closed as it developed cracks and was unsafe to commute.
Government begins evacuation of 500 stranded Manimahesh pilgrims
The Chamba administration began transporting nearly 500 stranded devotees from Bharmour to Chamba on Thursday.
A spokesperson of state government said that despite adverse weather conditions, 35 ailing and elderly devotees were safely airlifted to Chamba by a small helicopter, which completed seven sorties during the day. The Air Force’s MI-17 helicopter has also been stationed at Pathankot to meet any exigency.
The spokesperson said that at certain stretches, where roads have been damaged, adequate security personnel have been deployed by the district administration for their assistance and to ensure their safety. In addition, free food, drinking water, transport and other essential facilities have been arranged en-route to prevent any inconvenience to them.
He further stated that Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi has been personally supervising the rescue operation on the ground for the past several days.
Chamba deputy commissioner Mukesh Repaswal said that free helicopter services have been arranged from Bharmour to Chamba to ensure the safe return of pilgrims. He added that priority is being given to sick, injured, and elderly devotees.
The annual Manimahesh yatra, which began on August 16 and was to conclude on August 31, was temporarily suspended on August 25 following rains and landslides.
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday had apprised the Himachal assembly that out of 15,000 stranded pilgrims 10,000 have been evacuated. He had assured the House that there are 500 pilgrims who are still stranded and will be evacuated as weather improves.
Free service of HRTC for Manimahesh pilgrims: Agnihotri
Deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri on Thursday said that Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) was continuously providing free service to safely transport the pilgrims returning from Manimahesh Yatra. He informed that so far about 6,647 pilgrims had been transported to Pathankot and Kangra free of cost through 153 buses.
“The free service of the HRTC would continue until the last passenger reaches home safely,” Agnihotri said.
Himachal Pradesh government has decided to relax norms under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to ensure timely relief and rehabilitation.
“This would allow additional works to be undertaken as per actual demand for employment in rural areas, particularly for the repair and restoration of damaged infrastructure,” said chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday.
“To accelerate restoration, deputy commissioners have been empowered to approve new works under MGNREGA without waiting for prior approval from gram sabha. Ex-post facto approval from gram sabha, panchayat samiti and zila parishad would be obtained later keeping in view the practical impossibility of holding such a meeting during the prevailing weather conditions,” said CM.
Shimla residents perform yagna
The residents of Shimla on Thursday organised a shanti yagna seeking relief from the ongoing floods, landslides, and heavy rains that have affected several North Indian states, including Himachal, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Haryana.
HPU cancels Teachers Day celebrations
Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) authorities have cancelled the Teachers Day function scheduled to be held on September 5.
Tibetan settlements in Kullu affected by heavy rainfall: CTA
As the continuous downpour battered parts of Himachal Pradesh, the Tibetan settlements in Kullu have also been severely impacted in recent months, the Dharamshala-based Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) said.
Three of the six Tibetan settlements under the Kullu Palrabling settlement office’s jurisdiction—namely Manali Dekyiling, Dobhi Palrabling, and Kullu Yulokoe—were particularly affected.
CTA in its report said, “On 26 August, the Fozal Nala and Beas River near the Dobhi Palrabling settlement overflowed, causing mudslides and debris to inundate around 45 Tibetan households and damage property. However, the Central Tibetan Administration’s construction of a new retaining wall and renovation of the existing retaining wall significantly contributed to ensuring resident safety, with no casualties reported.”
On 27 August, torrential rains in Manali caused sand, stones, water, and uprooted trees to fall and wash onto the roofs of several households in the Manali Dekyiling settlement, damaging private property. The Kullu Tibetan Settlement Officer, Tenzin Tsultem, visited the affected areas, assessed the situation, and submitted a detailed verbal report to the home department and the additional district commissioner. A security retaining wall project has been approved for implementation after the monsoon season.
“In the Kullu Yulokoe Tibetan settlement, the river overflowed into houses on the banks, causing minor damage to the existing retaining wall but no serious harm to people or property. Apart from the affected settlements, other settlements and institutions like monasteries and schools have not suffered significant damage,” CTA officials said.
Officials said that the CTA’s Home Department has allocated four lakh in emergency relief funds to the Kullu Tibetan Settlement Office to address the immediate needs of the affected public and carry out relief measures. An appeal was made by the public to the Sikyong of the CTA, during his second official visit to the Kullu settlement, to increase the height of the existing retaining wall.
Light rainfall to continue till September 10
While light to moderate showers are expected to continue in parts of Himachal in the coming days, the IMD Shimla office has not issued a heavy rainfall alert for the coming days.
The MeT department officials said that light to moderate rainfall is likely at a few places in Himachal till September 10. A yellow alert of thunderstorms and lightning has been sounded for September 5 in Kangra, Mandi, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts.
During the last 24 hours, the monsoon activity was active over the state. Light to moderate rain was observed at most places with heavy rain at isolated places. The highest rainfall of 7 cm was recorded in Dharampur (Solan), followed by Karsog (7 cm), Kasauli (7 cm), Kandaghat (6 cm), Naina Devi (6 cm), Bilaspur Sadar (5 cm), Simla (5 cm), Sarahan (5 cm), Solan (4 cm), Manali (4 cm), Kufri (4 cm), Narkanda (4 cm), Sunibhajji (3 cm), Pachhad (3 cm), Sundarnagar (3 cm), Rampur Bushar (3 cm), Mandi (3 cm), Pandoh (2 cm), Nahan (2 cm), Shillaro (2 cm) and Gohar (2 cm).