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Himachal rain: Toll climbs to 72 with recovery of HPU prof’s body in Shimla
Rescue operations underway in landslide-hit Summer Hill and Krishna Nagar. So far, 14 bodies have been recovered from Summer Hill, five bodies from Fagli and two from Krishna Nagar in Shimla.
With the recovery of one more body from the debris of a collapsed Shiv temple in Summer Hill area of Shimla, the toll in the rain fury in Himachal Pradesh has climbed to 72, officials said on Thursday.
The deceased was identified as PL Sharma, chairman, department of mathematics, Himachal Pradesh University. The temple was crowded with devotees on Monday when the landslide struck. Eight people are still feared buried in the debris.
Also read: Himachal floods: Rescue ops underway in Kangra, water level in Beas recedes
Heavy rains lashed the hill state on Sunday, triggering landslides in several districts, including Shimla.
The total number of deaths in rain-related incidents in the state since Sunday night has increased to 72 with Shimla alone accounting for 21 deaths. “With the recovery of one more body on Wednesday, the toll in three landslide incidents at Summerhill, Fagli and Krishna Nagar in Shimla has reached 21,” superintendent of police, Shimla, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said.
Rescue operations are going on in Summer Hill and Krishna Nagar. So far, 14 bodies have been recovered from Summer Hill, five bodies from Fagli and two from Krishna Nagar.
Principal secretary (revenue) Onkar Chand Sharma said on Wednesday that the losses in the monsoon season have touched ₹7,500 crore.
SDM, Shimla (urban), Bhanu Gupta ordered for closure of all educational institutions in Shimla urban assembly segment on Thursday as several roads remained blocked due to heavy rain in recent days and frequent landslides.
As many as 650 roads were blocked in the state and 1,841 transformers and 285 water supply schemes were disrupted.
Chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said it would take the state a year to rebuild the infrastructure damaged by the heavy rains this monsoon and claimed that the estimated loss in the two devastating spells of heavy rain this week and in July was about ₹10,000 crore.
The chief minister said it takes time to rebuild roads and water projects. But the government is speeding up the process. “It’s a big challenge, a mountain-like challenge,” he said.
