Himachal: 400 roads including 3 NHs closed due to landslides, 263 lost lives so far

Mandi district has the highest number of 192 roads, 303 electricity transformers and 44 water supply schemes closed.

Shimla: Rain havoc continues in Himachal Pradesh. Hundreds of roads in the state are closed due to landslides and floods. This has increased the difficulties of the people. 400 roads including three national highways remained closed in the state till 10:00 am on Monday.

883 electricity transformers and 122 water supply schemes are also affected. Movement of vehicles is disrupted due to landslides at various places on NH-305, HH-5 and HH-3. Mandi district has the highest number of 192 roads, 303 electricity transformers and 44 water supply schemes closed.

National Highway-5 has collapsed near Powari in Kinnaur district. About 60 percent of the road has been damaged here. Small vehicles are being sent via Rekong Peo-Shilti route.

At the same time, the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway is also blocked due to landslides and sudden floods at many places due to heavy rains. Due to this, vehicles are stuck at many places.

Road collapsed before Tattapani bridge and submerged in Sutlej river

The main road connecting Karsog to Shimla has been damaged due to landslide towards Sunni about 200 meters ahead of Tattapani bridge.

A large part of the road has submerged in the overflowing Sutlej river. Due to this, the movement of all types of vehicles on the route has stopped. The width of the road here has reduced to only 1.5 meters, making it unsafe for vehicular movement.

The department has closed the damaged part for all types of vehicles till further orders. The alternative route through Thali bridge has also been damaged and is closed.

As a result, no alternative route is currently available in the jurisdiction of Sunni Division. Cracks had appeared on the road in the past, but now the road has completely collapsed. The Sutlej river is in spate and the road is in constant danger due to the strong current.

Due to this, road connectivity between Shimla-Karsog has been cut off. The water of Sutlej has reached the Tattapani bridge. Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh also inspected the Shimla-Karsog road which was broken due to the dam water near the selfie point at Tattapani.

The minister directed the Public Works Department to work to open the connecting road for the movement of small vehicles.

Clouds will rain for these many days

Last night, 113.0 mm rain was recorded in Dhaula Kuan, 70.8 mm in Jot, 70.0 mm in Malraon, 58.7 mm in Palampur, 49.4 mm in Jaton Barrage, 40.6 mm in Paonta Sahib, 33.0 mm in Murari Devi, 32.0 mm in Gohar, 30.1 mm in Nahan, 28.5 mm in Sarahan and 24.7 mm in Dharamshala. Meteorological Centre Shimla has predicted that rain will continue in many parts of the state till August 24. During this period, except for August 21, a yellow alert has been issued for heavy rain in some parts.

2,814 houses and shops damaged so far in monsoon

263 people have lost their lives in the state from June 20 to August 17 in this monsoon season. 332 people have been injured. 37 people are still missing. During this period, 127 people have died in road accidents. 2,814 kutcha-pucca houses and shops have been damaged so far due to cloudburst, landslides and floods. 2,201 cow shelters have also been damaged. 1,626 domestic animals have died. The total figure of loss has reached Rs 2,17,354.38 lakh.

HRTC started trans-shipment facility for passengers in Tattapani

As per the instructions of SDM Karsog Gaurav Mahajan, HRTC has arranged trans-shipment facility for the convenience of passengers. Under this, the facility of transportation through buses has been provided to the passengers from Tattapani to Karsog and Sunni to Shimla. Trans-shipment bus service of Karsog unit of HRTC has started. A 47 seater and an electric bus of Karsog unit has been installed for the movement of passengers. Apart from this, a mini bus has been parked in Tattapani for emergency situations. He said that the remaining buses will be run from Karsog to Tattapani as per their scheduled time. Apart from this, two long distance buses Karsog-Haridwar and Karsog-Delhi will be available near Sunni for the convenience of passengers.

All educational institutions of Paonta sub-division closed today

In view of the alert of heavy rain, the administration has declared holiday today in all the educational institutions of Paonta sub-division. But due to adverse circumstances, the school staff did not get leave. In such a situation, some teachers reached school risking their lives. Intellectuals and various organizations of the area have also expressed surprise at this decision of the department. The school staff of Government Primary Central School Kudla Kharg reached school risking their lives amid adverse circumstances.