12 killed in heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh

 

 

HEAVY overnight rains in Himachal Pradesh claimed 12 lives and blocked over 400 more roads besides damaging several houses, officials said on Wednesday. The meteorological office on Wednesday issued a ‘red alert’ predicting “heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated spells of extremely heavy rains” in six of the state’s 12 districts including Shimla for the next 24 hours. A total of 709 roads in the state are now shut following three major spells of heavy rains this Monsoon that have left a trail of death and destruction. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu appealed to the people to remain vigilant in view of the heavy rain forecast. All schools and colleges have been closed for two days beginning Wednesday in Shimla, Mandi and Solan districts. Out of the 12 deaths, seven occurred due to landslides in Mandi and Shimla. Besides, three people died of electrocution, and one death each was reported due to drowning and falling from height in different parts of the state, according to the state emergency operation centre. Five persons have died in landslides triggered by cloud bursts in two villages of Seraj area of Mandi district, Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary told PTI.

 

Two persons, Parma Nand (62) and his grandson Gopi (14), were killed in a landslide at Dagol village of Seraj in Mandi district while the other three were killed in a landslide in Sarachi village. Some more people are feared trapped in the debris. A few houses and a school were also damaged in the area. Shimla town was badly hit, with landslides and uprooted trees blocking the main cart road, the lifeline of the town as well as the Shimla-Mehli bypass at several points. Many houses have also developed cracks and people have been evacuated as a precautionary measure. A migrant identified as Jhalo and his wife Rajkumari were found dead in their makeshift house in Baldeyan area of Shimla district, Superintendent of Police, Shimla, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi told PTI. The police officer also appealed to residents to avoid unnecessary travel.

 

As many as 120 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state this month while a total of 238 people have died and 40 are still missing since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 24. The ‘red alert’ warning was issued in the afternoon for parts of Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts. The MeT Department also issued an orange warning of heavy to very heavy rains on Thursday. The landslides also left some houses damaged in Solan district. Deputy Commissioner, Solan, Manmohan Sharma told PTI that some houses have been damaged in Shakal village on the outskirts of Solan city as gushing waters entered the premises.