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Woman killed, Darcha-Shinku La road closed after cloudburst in Lahaul-Spiti
A woman was killed and a vehicle was buried in debris, while a bridge on the Darcha-Shinku La road was swept away after a fresh cloudburst triggered a flash flood near Sangam Nullah in the Kaza area of Lahaul and Spiti district on Friday night
A woman was killed and a vehicle was buried in debris, while a bridge on the Darcha-Shinku La road was swept away after a fresh cloudburst triggered a flash flood near Sangam Nullah in the Kaza area of Lahaul and Spiti district on Friday night.
According to the State Emergency Operation Centre in Shimla, the woman, Yeshe Zangmo, was washed away and rescuers recovered the body later. There was no passenger in the vehicle that was buried.
The incident comes two days after cloudbursts led to flash floods in Shimla, Mandi and Kullu districts, leaving eight people dead and 45 missing.
The Border Roads Organisation is working to restore traffic on the Darcha-Shinku La road, the Lahaul-Spiti district disaster management authority said, adding: “The bridge 16 km from Darcha on the Darcha-Shinku La road has been damaged due to the cloudburst, causing the closure of the road. The repair could take up to three days.”
Drones have been deployed to search for the missing.
NH5 opened, restoration
work near Pandoh compete
Traffic on National Highway-5, connecting state capital Shimla to Chandigath, was opened on Saturday morning as debris due to the landslide near Mukam Dattayar truck lay bay was cleared using JCB machines.
Restoration work at the Manali-Chandigarh highway, meanwhile, also picked up steam as the obstructions near the Pandoh were cleared.
“Mandi-Kullu road via Pandoh is accessible for all types of vehicles. The sections at 9 Mile and Pandoh are restricted to single-lane traffic, while the remainder of the road accommodates double-lane traffic. In addition, road via Kataula also remains open,” Kullu district disaster management authority said in a statement.
Long queues of vehicles on the Kullu-Manali bypass road had earlier been seen as parts of the main Kullu-Manali highway were washed away in the cloudburst on August 1.
Special secretary, disaster management, DC Rana said, “Thursday’s incident affected mainly the Samej area of Rampur, Bagipul area of Kullu and Paddar area of Mandi district. These three places were the epicentres of the cloudburst. On Thursday, 53 people were missing. On Friday, six bodies were recovered but 45 people are still missing.”
