Himachal cloudburst: 191 roads closed in, rescue operations continue to trace 45 missing people

Pic/ PTI

Over 190 roads were closed in Himachal Pradesh, as heavy rainfall continues to affect most parts of Himachal Pradesh since the past four days. Local weather office on Saturday issued a 'yellow' alert of heavy rains till August 7.

Of the 191 roads closed for vehicular traffic in the state, 79 are in Mandi, 38 in Kullu, 35 in Chamba and 30 in Shimla, five in Kangra and two each in Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts, according to the data released by the state emergency operation centre on Saturday, said a PTI report.

Bus services of 82 out of the total 3,612 routes have been suspended by the Himachal Roads Transport Corporation, said Managing Director, HRTC, Rohan Chand Thakur on Friday.

294 transformers and 120 water supply schemes have been disrupted in the state so far, the centre said.

Moderate to heavy showers continued to lash parts of the state, with Jogindernagar receiving the highest rainfall of 85 mm since Friday evening followed by Gohar (80 mm), Shilaroo (76.4 mm), Poanta Sahib (67.2), Palampur (57.2 mm) Dharamshala (55.6 mm) and Chopal (52 mm).

Meanwhile, the rescue operation to trace about 45 people who went missing after the cloudbursts in three districts resumed on Saturday but there has been no success so far.

As per the PTI report, a total of 410 rescuers from teams of Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), State Disaster Response Force, police (SDRF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), police and home guards have been deloyed in the operation assisted by drones, officials said on Saturday.

So far, eight people have died in the cloudburst triggered flash floods in Nirmand, Sainj and Malana areas in Kullu, Mandi's Padhar and Shimla's Rampur subdivision on Wednesday night. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu who visited Samej village in Rampur where over 30 people are missing on Friday had announced an immediate relief of Rs 50,000 for the victims and said they would be given Rs 5,000 monthly for rent for the next three months along with gas, food and other essential items.

77 people have lost their lives in rain related incidents since the onset of the monsoon on June 27 until August 1. According to officials, the state has suffered losses amounting to Rs 655 crore.