E-Paper
Rains lash Himachal: Rivers in spate, Chandigarh-Manali, Jammu-Srinagar higways blocked
An official of the local MeT office said there are chances of heavy rainfall at some places in the state till Monday and thereafter the intensity of rains will start receding.
Schools in at least nine of 12 districts of Himachal Pradesh will remain closed on Monday after rains and snowfall lashed many parts of the state. All government and private schools in Shimla, Sirmaur, Kangra, Kullu, Chamba, Mandi, Kinnaur, Solan and Hamirpur districts have been directed to remain closed as a precautionary measure, officials said.
The southwest monsoon remained aggressive on Sunday in Himachal Pradesh with most of the areas experiencing heavy to extremely heavy rains, causing landslides in some areas and blocking the highways. All the major rivers and their tributaries were in spate, officials said.
While picturesque tourist town Manali recorded the highest rainfall in the state at 127 mm, it was 125 mm in Dharamshala, 124 mm in Una and 90 mm in Dalhousie.
State capital Shimla saw 47 mm rain.
However, higher reaches of Kullu, Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts saw snowfall.
Highways closed
The water level of the Beas river also rose abnormally touching the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway 21 near the Hanogi Temple in Mandi district. As the road submerged in water, the highway remained closed on Sunday. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on both sides of the road.
Small landslides also took place at Hanogi Mata Temple area of NH 21
Meanwhile, a truck and Volvo bus were washed away in Beas river water at Manali. The bus was parked in the official parking lot at Manali and sudden increase in the river water washed away a portion of the ground along with the bus.
However, no casualty was reported from both the districts till the evening.
Further, the highway that connects Manali with Leh in Jammu and Kashmir has been closed for traffic owing to heavy snow, officials said. “The traffic between Manali and Leh has been closed since Saturday,” an official of the 38 task force of the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) told IANS.
The Manali-Leh highway is crucial to the movement of the armed forces and their supplies and wares to forward areas in Ladakh.
An official of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation said it would take a week to restart the bus services between Manali via Keylong and Leh.
Meanwhile, the 13,050 feet high Rohtang Pass, the main tourist attraction and located 52 km from here, was also closed.
Mandi-Pathankot national Highway 153 also remain partially blocked on Sunday.
What’s in store
An official of the local MeT office said there are chances of heavy rainfall at some places in the state till Monday and thereafter the intensity of rains will start receding.
Incessant rains have also caused massive landslides on national highways in Shimla, Kinnaur, Mandi and Kullu districts, hampering vehicular traffic.
The water level in the major rivers of the state — the Satluj, Beas and Yamuna — which enter the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana has also increased, a government official said.
Normal life disrupted
With continuous rain, normal life in all parts of the Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh came to a near standstill for the third day on Sunday. Labour of the public works department (PWD) were seen clearing the debris from the roads despite rain on Sunday.
Sujanpur, Nadaun, Bhoranj areas of the district were the worst hit.
In view of the spate in Beas river and its tributaries, the administration has directed people not to go near the river.
Farmers worried
The weather condition has also added to farmers’ woes as they were harvesting maize crop but the fields got waterlogged, and stopped the process.
Meanwhile, there was no drinking water supply in various parts of Hamirpur district on Sunday. A spokesman of the irrigation and public health department said that water supply would be restored once situation came under control.
The spokesman added that there was a heavy loss to the crops and official and private properties during the current monsoon season. He said that field staff of the revenue and other public related departments were busy accessing the damage to be communicated to the state government through district administration once the rains stops.
20 rescued from Rohtang pass after heavy snowfall
At least 20 stranded people have been rescued from the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) official said.
They were stranded due to the closure of the Rohtang Pass after heavy snowfall, Lieutenant Colonel DS Bisht said.
After getting information, a General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) truck was sent and they were brought to Manali safely with the help of Col AK Awasthi and Kullu deputy commissioner (DC) Yunus, Bisht said.
Rohtang Pass witnessed about four feet of fresh snowfall on Sunday.
18 trapped due to swelled Beas river water in Kullu district
As many as 26 people were trapped in the swelled Beas river water at Dobhi area of Kullu district out of which, eight were rescued from Rohtang top of Kullu district on Saturday night. The rescue operation was delayed due to bad weather on Sunday.
Dobhi is an open land and site area where paragliders land. Beas water suddenly encircled the landing site and people saved their lives by gathering at the highest point of the land.
Various projects affected
District administration of Mandi and Kullu issued red-alert as the excess water was released from Beas Sutlej Link (BSL) project Pandoh and Largi power project’s reservoir.
Power production at Largi power project hampered due to excess silt on Sunday. Largi project executive engineer Sunil Kumar said that production will be restored after release of silt.
Sunil added that every precaution has been taken before releasing excess water and silt from the reservoir.
Bhakhra Beas Management Board- BSL project executive engineer Rajesh Handa said that flood gates of the Pandoh Dam have been opened to release excess water of Beas river and warning has been issued to Kangra district authorities to take precaution.
Holiday in Kullu, Kinnaur districts
Heavy rains have driven the Himachal Pradesh government to order closure of all schools in Kullu and Kinnaur districts on Monday, officials said.
All government and private schools will remain closed in tribal district of Kinnaur on Monday as per the directions issued by deputy commissioner Gopal Chand, an official said.
Kullu DC Yunus also declared holiday for the students in government and private schools and institutions on Monday but added that teachers and staff will attend the schools and institutions.
