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Himachal rain: NDRF rescues 51 stranded villagers in Mandi district
Landslides and flash floods triggered by a cloudburst had cut off Kholanala and Shehnu Gouni villages in Bali Chowki sub division of Mandi district
In a daring operation regardless of flooded streams and broken roads, the 14th battalion of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued 51 people from rain-battered Kholanala and Shehnu Gouni in Bali Chowki sub division of Mandi district late on Thursday.
The displaced people were shifted to Nagwain relief camp.
Himachal Pradesh Police personnel were also a part of the rescue operation.
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Mandi deputy commissioner Arindam Chaudhary said that multiple landslides and flash floods triggered by a cloudburst on the intervening night of August 22 and 23 had left the two villages cut off as roads in the area were damaged. Several houses were also damaged.
“After the Bali Chowki sub divisional magistrate informed the NDRF about several people stranded at Kholanala, a team was rushed to the spot from the base at Seraj Bhavan in Kullu,” State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) director DC Rana said.
As the landslide had blocked the road, the NDRF team trekked more than 15km from Hanogi to reach the incident site.
At 3.20pm when the team reached Shehnu Gouni, 8km from Hanogi, they found 51 people, comprising 16 men, 20 women and 15 children, stranded there.
One part of the NDRF team rescued the stranded people and took them to Hanogi village, while the other covered another 8km and reached Kholanala village at 6pm. They checked and confirmed that the affected people had moved to safer locations on their own.
The Mandi DC lauded the efforts of the NDRF team and the Bali Chowki administration, including the SDM and block development officer, who accompanied reached the incident sites to extend a helping hand to the affected people.
