Himachal: Five dead in landslides, all major rivers in spate after heavy rains

Five people were killed as heavy rains pounded Himachal Pradesh on Sunday triggering landslides and flash floods damaging houses and paralysing normal life with authorities ordering the closure of schools and colleges for two daysAll major rivers are in spate officials said adding the local met office had issued a fresh red alert of extremely heavy rains above 204 mm in ten out of 12 districts barring tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti on July 9Fourteen major landslides and 13 flash floods have been reported in the past 36 hours while over 700 roads have been closed according to the state emergency operation centreReports of shops being swept away in Manali vehicles being washed away in flash floods at Nullah in Kullu Kinnaur and Chamba and loss to agricultural land have also poured in Several roads have also been closed in Shimla districtsThree members of a family were killed in a house collapse following a landslide due to rains in Kotgarh area of Shimla district The deceased were identified as Anil his wife Kiran and son Swapnil officials saidA landslide also damaged a makeshift house near Kullu town leaving a woman dead In another incident a person was buried alive following a landslide in Katiyan tehsil of Chamba on Saturday nightAlso readMumbai gets more than expected rain for JulyChief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed his condolences and said that the district administration has been directed to provide immediate relief to the affected familiesAs many as 200 persons were stranded in Chandratal in Lahaul and Spiti Superintendent of Police Mayank Chaudhary who is on the spot said that all the people are safe and food and essential medicines have been arrangedThey would be rescued in 12 days as the road is restored he saidThe Himachal Pradesh Government has closed all the government and private schools and colleges affiliated with the state for two days July 10 and 11In an office order issued here Director of the Higher Education Department Amarjeet Sharma said that the schools affiliated with ICSE CBSE and other boards can take decisions regarding closing schools at their own levelAs many as 736 roads have been closed for traffic while 1743 transformers and 138 water supply schemes were affected on Sunday morningThe national highways blocked included NH21 Mandi to Kullu NH505 Gramphu to Locar NH03 Kullu to Manali NH305 Aut to Jalori and NH707 Rohru to Poanta Sahib near Shillai in Sirmaur districtNational Highway 21 is blocked at 6 Mile name of the place This is the same place where the commuters were struck for almost 24 hours on June 27 last due to a landslide MandiKullu road via Kamand was also blocked near Ghoda farm The ManaliChandigarh also caved in near ManaliAll the major rivers including Ravi Beas Satluj Swan and Chenab are in spate and tourists and commuters have been asked to avoid travelling during heavy rains and not to venture out near river bodiesDeputy Commissioner of Kullu Ashutosh Garg said the KulluManali road is blocked at several places due to landslides Beas River is in spate near Ramshela and traffic has been halted from Kullu to Manali and Manali to Atal TunnelHe said landslides have also occurred on MandiKullu road and only emergency vehicles are allowed on this stretch The administration has asked the tourists and residents to avoid venturing out in heavy rainsAll the trains between UNESCO heritage Shimla and Kalka track have been cancelled as landslides and fallen trees blocked the railway track at many placesFour tourists had a narrow escape on Saturday night as a rock fell on their vehicle near Chadol on the ChandigarhManali highway The tourists were on their way to Manali when the incident occurred and were rescued by the localsThirty college students stranded between Gramphu and Chota Dharra on SundokazaGramphu National Highway 505 following a roadblock due to landslide and flash floods at several places were rescued by the Lahaul and Spiti authorities on Saturday nightHeavy to extremely heavy rains lashed several parts of the state in the past 24 hoursNangal Dam at Bilaspur received 2825mm rain followed by Dehra Gopipur 1754 mm Una 1662 mm Chamba 1465 mm Dalhousie 143 mm Nahan and Manali 1312 mm Bilaspur 130 mm Dharamsala 1264 mm Gondla 112 mm Kangra 108 mm Solan 107 mm Jubbarhatti 103 mm Bhuntar 101 mm Palampur 94 mm Narkanda 88 mm Sundernagar 83 mm Mandi 80 mm Shimla 794 mm and Mashobra 70 mmThe local met office has cautioned of high flash flood risk over a few watersheds in Chamba Kangra Kullu Shimla Sirmaur and Mandi districtsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever