AN OVERNIGHT cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district submerged the bus stand and market in Dharampur town, and washed away many parked buses of the state-run Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) and cars, burying houses and shops under debris. One person is feared missing as flash floods triggered by the cloudburst wreaked havoc in Dharampur, some 250 km from here, inundating vast areas, officials said on Tuesday. Locals said that this time, the devastation and flooding in the gushing water of the swollen Saun rivulet, a tributary of the Beas, was massive compared to 2015.

 

Heavy rains in most parts of Mandi, the worst-affected district, started at around 11 p.m. and by around 1 a.m., they had become so intense that people started coming out of their houses in fear. The HRTC buses parked at the bus stand were submerged in the water, and some buses were swept away. Houses located on the banks of the rivulet were submerged in the water, and many vehicles were also swept away in the strong current. Some people waiting at the bus stand had to rush to the top floor as water entered the bus stand, inundating shops. Feared residents climbed on the roofs of their houses and spent the night there. Nearly 150 children were safely rescued to the second and third floors of a hostel. As per the police, there was no report of human casualties so far.

 

One person is reportedly missing, but many vehicles, comprising four-wheelers and two-wheelers, were washed away. Also, debris has entered houses and shops. At present, the water level of the rivulet has become normal. Local people were engaged in rescue and relief works. The strong water currents, however, hampered rescue operations. The local administration has geared up the machinery to speed up relief and rescue operations. Besides Dharampur, heavy rain also lashed the Sarkaghat subdivision of the district. Former Chief Minister and BJP leader Jairam Thakur said heavy rain had caused colossal damage. He said heavy rain in many areas of the state since last night had been a matter of concern. “Information of heavy damage is being received from the Dharampur and Sarkaghat areas of Mandi district, and there are also reports of some people missing,” he said.

 

“I urge the people of the state to remain alert in this weather, give priority to the safety of themselves and their families and follow the guidelines issued by the administration completely,” Thakur added. The State capital, Shimla, and nearby areas also reported multiple landslides and disruption of life due to the downpour. 

 

 

MONSOON fury in Himachal Pradesh has rendered more than 1,500 families homeless since its onset on June 20 as the state recorded an average rainfall of 1010.9 mm this time, 46 per cent more than the normal of 692.1 mm. The Himalayan state witnessed 46 cloudbursts, 98 flash floods and 145 major landslides, while 417 people have died. Of those dead, 231 lost their lives in rain-related incidents and 181 in road accidents. About 477 people have suffered injuries, while 45 are still missing. According to the state emergency operation centre data, 1,502 houses were fully damaged while 6,503 suffered partial damage as the state suffered losses to the tune of Rs 4582 crore so far. The public works department was the worst hit with losses amounting to Rs 2803 crore, followed by the Jal Shakti department, which lost Rs 1,405 crore. Frequent natural disasters have made life in the hill state uncertain, and an uneasy calm prevails among the residents who are fighting to restore normalcy. On Tuesday evening, as many as 655 roads, including stretches of three National Highways, were closed in the state, and 924 power transformers and 243 water supply schemes were disrupted. 

 

 

AROUND 2,500 tourists were stuck in Mussoorie on Wednesday as the road from Dehradun to the popular hill station remained closed for the second consecutive day following cloudbursts and heavy rain in the capital. While 13 people were killed in rain-related incidents in Dehradun on Tuesday, the downpour severely damaged the route to Mussoorie. Other parts of the State, too, were lashed by rain. According to officials, an alternative Bailey bridge is being erected at Kolhukhet, and it is likely to become operational for light vehicles by Wednesday night. The Dehradun-Mussoorie route was breached at several points, prompting police to appeal to tourists and visitors to stay wherever they were -- whether in hotels, homes or homestays -- till the road was restored. “Debris has been partially cleared from two points along the route, but installation of an alternative bridge at Kolhukhet may take a little more time,” a police officer in Mussoorie said. At present, there are around 2,500 tourists stuck in Mussoorie due to the disruption of the route, he said. The number was much higher on Tuesday, but several tourists left Mussoorie on Wednesday via Vikasnagar, a longer route that had been blocked by landslides on Tuesday but was opened for traffic on Wednesday, IAS officer Rahul Anand, who is supervising the installation of the bridge in Kolhukhet, told PTI. “It will be completed in a couple of hours.

 

We will then open the route for light vehicles. It will also help transport heavy machines like JCBs for clearing the rubble accumulated on the road beyond Kolhukhet,” he said. The distance between Dehradun and Mussoorie by the usual route, which is broken at places, is just 35 km, while it is around 80 km by the alternative route via Vikasnagar. In view of the inconvenience to tourists who were forced to overstay in the hill town because of the disruption of the Dehradun-Mussoorie road, the Mussoorie Hotel Owners’ Association, as a goodwill gesture, extended a complimentary stay facility to them for a night on Tuesday, another official said. “That facility was just for one night on Tuesday. There is no complimentary stay facility in hotels in Mussoorie anymore. The road is also likely to be operational by late Wednesday, after which tourists can leave as per their convenience,” Mussoorie Hotel Owners’ Association president Sanjay Aggarwal told.