One person was killed on the spot while two others sustained injuries when a rock fell from the hillside on their moving car in Bhararighat area of Himachal’s Solan district on Tuesday, police said.
The man, identified as Anil Bakshi, 63, of Chotta Shimla, was pronounced dead by doctors at the hospital. The injured were Anil’s wife, Brijeswari, 58, and his son, Anil, 27.
The family was on their way to Bilaspur when the incident occurred near Dasren in Bhararighat on the Shimla-Dharamshala National Highway in Solan district, where construction work for a four-lane highway is underway.
The impact caused significant damage to the vehicle, which was crushed under the rock, injuring two occupants and resulting in the death of another.
One person died while two others sustained injuries in the incident, police said.
Chaos ensued at the scene following the accident.
With the help of locals, the injured were extricated from the car and rushed to the hospital for treatment. Traffic on the road was halted for almost an hour.
2 NHs blocked
{{/usCountry}}2 NHs blocked
{{/usCountry}}On the other hand, as many as 206 roads, including two national highways, were blocked across the state on Tuesday, officials said.
Landslides and shooting stones were also reported from several places in the state. In Mandi district, 82 roads remained blocked. The Mandi-Kullu stretch of the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway was closed to traffic at Jhalogi on Tuesday morning after shooting stones fell onto the road, resulting in long queues of vehicles on both sides.
The stretch reopened after around five hours but was later closed again due to intermittent shooting stones from the hillside between Dwada and Jhalogi. The Mandi-Jogindernagar stretch of Mandi-Pathankot highway (NH-154) also remained blocked at Talghar Urla due to muck flowing onto the road.
While 56 roads remained blocked in Kullu, 23 were blocked in Sirmaur and 16 in Chamba district. In Shimla district, 14 roads remained blocked.
Two separate landslide incidents have been reported in the Ani subdivision of Kullu. The first occurred on National Highway 305 between Kiran Bazaar and Barad, where debris fell onto a moving car. The car was completely wrecked, and the two occupants were trapped in the debris. Passersby helped rescue the injured and rushed them to Ani Hospital, where they are currently undergoing treatment. The second incident took place near the new bus stand in Ani, where a massive boulder fell from the hillside onto a taxi parked by the roadside, damaging the vehicle.
Sainj Valley is also reeling under the monsoon. A landslide was reported near Siund on the Neuli-Sainj road. In Bakshahal village, runoff water from the road entered the residential area, placing approximately 11 houses in immediate danger of landslides. Several other connecting roads in the valley were also blocked by debris.
Landslides were also reported in Shimla.
Schools closed in Kullu
All schools, colleges and other educational institutions were closed in Kullu due to heavy rains on Tuesday. A notification was issued by Kullu sub-divisional magistrate Jaibanti Thakur following the MeT department’s warning of heavy to very heavy rains that could potentially cause landslides, road blockades, and flash floods.
Rainfall continued in several parts of the state, including Dharamshala, Kangra, Mandi, Shimla, Manali, Nahan, Kullu and Solan. During the last 24 hours, light to moderate rain occurred at most places and heavy rain at isolated places across the state.
The highest rainfall of 9 cm was recorded in Chuari, followed by Dharmshala (7 cm), Palampur (7 cm), Jot (5 cm), Jogindarnagar (5 cm), Pandoh (4 cm), Sujanpur Tira (4 cm), Saloni (3 cm), Rohru (3 cm), Mandi (2 cm), Kothi (2 cm), Gohar (1 cm), Kalpa (1 cm) and Guler (1 cm).
Heavy showers to continue: IMD
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), Shimla, has predicted heavy showers to continue in parts of the state until August 17 and has issued heavy rainfall alerts in several districts during this period.
For August 12, the IMD has sounded a yellow alert of heavy rainfall in Chamba, Kangra and Mandi districts, followed by a similar alert on August 13 in Bilaspur, Chamba, Solan and Sirmaur districts. For August 14, an orange alert of heavy to very heavy rainfall has been issued for Sirmaur districts, while a yellow alert of heavy rainfall has been sounded in Bilaspur, Kangra, Mandi, Shimla and Solan districts.
Landslides, road damages pose threat to houses in Shimla, Kullu
Owing to rain on Monday night, a landslide was reported in the cemetery area of Sanjauli, disrupting the road leading to the cemetery and damaging three two-wheelers. In another incident in the Vikas Nagar area, a portion of the road gave way, putting a nearby house at risk.
Prem Sagar, a resident of Vikasnagar and owner of the affected house alleged that no action was taken despite his repeated approaches to authorities regarding the road condition and the danger it posed to his building.
“This is the main road of Vikasnagar. Heavy vehicles were plying on it. Heavy machinery is also parked here. I had written to the authorities and requested them to take action, but no action was taken,” Sagar said.
“I personally went to the JE and submitted an application. I was told that something would be done, but nothing happened,” he said.
“Last night, the whole family left from there. We are living in fear. We don’t know what to do or where to go, and how we will manage our basic needs,” he said.
Meanwhile, Shimla municipal corporation Surinder Chauhan said the civic body was fully prepared to deal with the situation amid the continuing rainfall and had already initiated emergency works at vulnerable locations.
“I received a message last night about the situation. I started the work immediately and obtained approval for emergency works. The contractor has also been engaged. My colleagues and staff are present here,” Chauhan said.
Chauhan said the work at the vulnerable site was expected to be completed within seven to 10 days, given the seriousness of the situation.