22 killed, several injured due to rain-triggered landslides in Himachal Pradesh

A truck damaged by boulders following a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Himachal on Saturday. Pic/PTI

Twenty-two people, including eight members of a family, were killed and six feared dead in incidents of landslide and flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh since Friday, officials said. Ten people were injured, state Disaster Management Department Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said on Saturday.

The maximum damage has been reported from Mandi, Kangra and Chamba districts, he said, adding that so far 36 weather-related incidents have been reported from the state. As many as 743 roads, including the Manali-Chandigarh national highway at Mandi and the Shimla-Chandigarh highway at Shoghi have been blocked for traffic, he added.

Also read: Himachal Pradesh: Woman, her child killed in landslide in Chamba

In Mandi alone, 13 people died and six went missing in flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall, Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary said. Those missing are feared dead, he said. Bodies of eight members of a family were retrieved from the debris of their house after a four-hour-long search operation by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and police at Kashan village in Gohar development block, he added. The house collapsed in a landslide.

The body of a girl was recovered at some distance away from her house after a flash flood in Baghi nullah on the Mandi-Katola-Prashar road, the DC said, adding that five members of her family are feared washed away. Several families left their homes located between Baghi and Old Katola areas after a cloud burst and took shelter at safer places, he added. In Kangra, a "kutcha" house collapsed, killing a nine-year-old child, officials said.

Meanwhile, trains on the Jogindernagar-Pathankot route have been suspended as Chakki Bridge in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district collapsed due to heavy rainfall on Saturday, officials said. The Railway authorities had declared the bridge unsafe and the train service on the narrow gauge track from Pathankot (Punjab) to Jogindernagar (Himachal Pradesh) has been suspended, they added. In Hamirpur, 30 people who were stranded following a flash flood evacuated safely, they said.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said the administration is carrying out rescue operations on a war footing in affected districts. The HP Public Works Department (PWD) chief engineer said 743 roads, including the Manali-Chandigarh highway at Mandi and Shimla-Chandigarh highway at Shoghi, were closed due to unprecedented rainfall.

Stones are still falling and traffic has been diverted via the Shoghi-Mehli bypass, they added. Meanwhile, water and power supply have been hit in several parts of the state. State Chief Secretary R D Dhiman directed the departments concerned to clear roads so that the supply of basic needs is not disrupted. The principal secretary, revenue, told the chief secretary that Rs 232.31 crore has been released to the districts from the State Disaster Response Fund to carry out the relief and rehabilitation work.

Cloudburst in Dehradun, swollen rivers wash away bridges

A cloudburst hit a village in Dehradun in the early hours of Saturday, causing rivers to breach their banks and wash away bridges, officials said. Water also entered the caves of Tapkeshwar, a famous Shiva temple on the banks of the Tons river. The cloudburst occurred around 2.15 am in Sarkhet village in the Raipur area. A bridge over the Song river near Thano was washed away. The Kempty Falls, a popular tourist spot near Mussoorie, was also flowing dangerously.

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