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Rescue underway in Himachal, 4 trapped at Malana dam back safe
Search on for 50 people who went missing after cloudbursts triggered flash floods in Shimla, Mandi, Kullu and Chamba districts early on Thursday.
A day after cloudbursts triggered flash floods in Shimla, Mandi, Kullu and Chamba districts that left five people dead and rendered nearly 50 missing, the Himachal Pradesh government mobilised extensive rescue and relief efforts.
“We have directed officials to keep a 24-hour vigil on the situation and also instructed them to review the damage caused by the disaster. Our government is providing all possible help to the disaster-affected people,” chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu posted on X on Friday.
Addressing the media, he said rescue and relief were in full swing. “Our immediate priority is to rescue the four individuals reported trapped and recover the bodies buried under debris,” Sukhu said of the rescue operations underway in Rampur, where two people were killed and more than 30 remain missing.
State revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi, who is at Samej in Rampur to oversee relief work, said: “As soon as the flash floods struck, the district administration, with the help of police, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) began rescue. The operation is still on.”
The heavy rain-induced flooding early on Thursday had resulted in a breach in the Malana hydel project, sending massive volumes of water downstream into the Parvati Valley and Kullu.
The NDRF on Friday rescued four people trapped at the dam that had been breached by the heavy influx of water early on Thursday. “The 14 NDRF team rescued four stranded individuals at Malana dam despite the heavy flow of the Parvati river. The team navigated treacherous conditions and after rigorous efforts achieved the feat,” a statement from the force read.
A barrage of the Malana-1 project in Kullu district was breached after heavy volumes of water hit the dam after the cloudburst. Kullu deputy commissioner Torul S Raveesh said the water has since receded and that the situation is under control.
Meanwhile, chief minister Sukhu urged people, particularly tourists, to exercise caution. “While tourists are welcome, I urge them to refrain from visiting risky areas such as river banks and waterfalls for photography,” he said.
