Focus shifts to rescue efforts; In Punjab and Haryana, at least 15 people died in rain-related incidents
Army personnel rescue residents from a flood-affected area following monsoon rain in Lohian in Jalandhar district, on Wednesday. Pic/PTI
As the weather improved in parts of north India, which was pummelled by heavy rains for days, authorities on Wednesday worked on a war footing to rescue stranded tourists, restore vehicular traffic on arterial roads and prevent floodwaters from entering new areas. In Punjab and Haryana, at least 15 people have died in rain-related incidents, according to government data.
As many as 2,000 tourists stranded in Himachal Pradesh’s Kasol were evacuated and more than 300 tourist vehicles stuck in Lahaul following landslides and flash floods left for their respective destinations, the state government said. The IMD said heavy to very heavy rainfall activity is likely to continue over Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Madhya Pradesh during the next two days and decrease thereafter.
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In Himachal Pradesh, about 2,200 stranded vehicles crossed Kullu after the Kullu-Manali road was opened on Tuesday evening. Over 2,000 people stranded in Kasol have been evacuated. Teams are working tirelessly to clear the Dunkhara landslide on the Kasol-Bhuntar road. The district administration is coordinating the relief efforts, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in a tweet. Over 300 tourist vehicles stuck in Lahaul have also left for their respective destinations, he said.
Sukhu had said on Tuesday that all stranded tourists would be evacuated by Wednesday and that six helicopters had been deployed for the task. He had also said that the hill state has suffered an estimated loss of Rs 4,000 crore due to the rains. In Punjab, nearly 10,000 people have been evacuated so far in Patiala, Rupnagar, Moga, Ludhiana, Mohali, SBS Nagar and Fatehgarh Sahib districts, officials said.
The death toll due to rain-related incidents in Haryana and Punjab is 15, according to government data. Ambala, Yamunangar, Kurukshetra, Patiala, Rupnagar, Jalandhar, SBS Nagar and Mohali are some of the affected districts in the two states.
2,000
No of tourists evacuated from HP’s Kasol
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