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Monsoon fury: 4 dead, 16 missing after cloudbursts in Himachal’s Mandi district
300 stranded in tunnel on Mandi-Manali national highway, which is blocked from both Hanogi and Pandoh ends since midnight; traffic movement towards both Kullu and Mandi hit.
Mandi in Himachal Pradesh bore the brunt of the monsoon fury on Tuesday as several cloudbursts triggered flashfloods and landslides across the district, leaving four people dead and 16 missing. Nearly 80 vehicles are stranded inside a tunnel on the Mandi-Manali highway, with an estimated 300 people trapped due to a landslide triggered by overnight rain.
The affected tunnel, blocked from both the Hanogi and Pandoh ends since around midnight, has cut off movement towards both Kullu and Mandi. The authorities have arranged food supplies for the stranded people. Mandi deputy commissioner Apoorv Devgan said that the exact number of people inside remains unclear. On Monday night, 34 people were rescued from the site.
40 rescued after incessant rain overnight
The district administration rescued 40 people from various locations in the district. In Gohar sub division alone, 14 people were reported missing on Tuesday morning following cloudbursts.
Officials said nine people were missing after two houses were swept away in the Siyanj area of Gohar.
Six people were trapped after a house collapsed in Bada, they said, adding four of them were rescued, while two bodies were recovered later.
Three members of a family were reported missing in Talwara village of the sub division following incessant rain overnight.
National and state disaster response force personnel have been despatched to all affected sites, a district official said.
In Karsog sub division of Mandi district, the body of a man was recovered from Purana Bazar after a cloudburst in the area on Monday night. Four persons are still missing, while seven were evacuated from Rikki village.
Another body was recovered at Neri Kotla village of Jogindernagar sub division.
Twelve students and four women were rescued from Government Degree College, Karsog.
Officials said efforts were on to rescue seven people stranded near the riverside in the Kutti area of the district.
Six houses were damaged after a cloudburst hit Dharampur in Mandi overnight and 26 cattle perished.
Beas river in spate, villagers shifted
The district administration shifted a dozen people from Indira Awas Colony along the Beas river that is in spate.
Residents of Pandoh market were also evacuated from their houses as a precautionary measure.
The incidents brought back memories of devastation of the 2023 monsoon that had left a trail of destruction across Himachal Pradesh with Mandi being one of the worst-affected districts. The three spells of excessive rain in July and August in 2023 had claimed over 500 lives.
Meanwhile, due to continuous rainfall, schools were closed in Mandi and Kangra for the second day on Tuesday.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert of heavy to very heavy rainfall in parts of Himachal Pradesh till Wednesday. (With PTI inputs)
