Shimla: Heavy rains and landslides continue to wreak havoc and death in Himachal Pradesh. Four more people have died on Thursday. Many are still missing. In view of the risk of cracks and landslides, 12 houses have been evacuated in the capital of Shimla and Nalagarh of Solan.
309 people rescued safely in Kangra district
On the second day also, 309 people have been safely rescued by Air Force helicopter and other means after the water released from Pong dam flooded Indora and Fatehpur assembly constituencies of Kangra.
Relief material was also dropped from the helicopter on the roofs of the houses. Within the last four days, 70 people have died in the state. Since the arrival of monsoon in Himachal on June 24, 330 people have lost their lives so far.
1200 bus route stalled
At the same time, 875 roads including Mandi-Kullu and Sainj-Aut National Highway are still closed. 1200 bus routes are stalled. Within 24 hours, 185 houses collapsed across the state while 392 houses were damaged. Due to the natural calamity, so far the loss to the state has been assessed to the tune of Rs 7659.93 crore.
Another dead body removed from the debris of Shiv Bawdi temple
On Thursday, another body has been removed from the debris of the Shiv Bawdi temple, which was buried by a landslide in Summerhill of the capital Shimla. The death toll has now reached 14.
The deceased has been identified as Professor PL Sharma of Himachal Pradesh University. The body was found two kilometers away from the spot. The body of PL Sharma’s wife was found earlier.
Woman’s body found near Pong Lake
In Chamba’s Sarna also, the dead body of a youth was found trapped in a rock in Kamal Khad. Three days ago, the young man was washed away while taking a bath.
The dead body of a woman has been found on the banks of Pong lake in village Pansal of nearby panchayat Khairian under police station Haripur.
The dead body has not been identified yet. The dead body of an unknown person has also been found on an island in the middle of the Beas River in Khairi Panchayat under police station Sujanpur.
CM Sukhu visited disaster affected areas
Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday visited the disaster affected areas of Mandi’s Dharampur, Sarkaghat, Hamirpur’s Sujanpur, and Bhoranj and listened to the problems of the people. After a four-day holiday, children reached most of the schools in the state on Thursday.
The weather will remain like this till August 23
The weather will be clear in most areas of the state on Friday. Meteorological Center Shimla has predicted light rain on Friday. Rains are likely to continue in many parts of the state till August 23.
The weather remained clear in most of the areas including the capital Shimla on Thursday. Shimla witnessed a drizzle in the evening.
So far 330 people have lost their lives in this monsoon season.
In this monsoon season, from June 24 to August 17, 330 people have lost their lives. 322 have been injured. 1957 houses have collapsed. 9344 has suffered partial damage. 293 shops and 4072 gaushalas have also been damaged.
A loss of over Rs 7659.93 crore has been incurred so far during the monsoon season. So far, 113 incidents of landslides and 58 incidents of flash floods have been reported in the state.
Bus service could not be restored on 1200 routes
HRTC bus services have not been restored on about 1200 routes in the state. Most of the problems are being faced due to non-restored roads on rural highways.
After traffic was restored at Chakki Mor, HRTC has started plying of buses from Shimla to Chandigarh and Delhi via NH 05 but the number of passengers in the buses is very less.
HRTC bus service in the state has not been completely back on track. HRTC has started bus service after the main roads were restored for traffic but the problem persists on rural routes.
At the sub-divisional level, where bus service on local routes is still affected, the number of passengers in buses on long distance routes is very less. Less than 50 percent passengers are traveling in Volvo running on Shimla-Delhi route.