Major landslide in Shimla after heavy rainfall in Shimla on Saturday. (Express Photo by Pradeep Kumar 02.09.17)
A massive landslide has occurred on the Chandigarh-Shimla National Highway near Dhalli Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh, with many vehicles buried under debris, news agency ANI reported. Traffic movement has been affected owing to a portion of the highway being blocked off.
India is witnessing a spell of heavy monsoon as incessant rains have resulted in water logging and flooding in parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and very recently, Mumbai. The downpour has led to several deaths and damage to property. Floods have claimed over 400 lives in Bihar, while at least 90 people have been killed in Assam. At least 30 people were killed during Mumbai rains as well.
Many hilly areas in the northern part of the country, such as Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, have seen landslides, flooding and damage to loss and property due to cloudbursts during monsoon this year.
Traffic movement has been affected owing to a portion of the highway being blocked off. (Express Photo by Pradeep Kumar 02.09.17)
On August 13, a huge landslide had killed 46 people in Himachal’s Mandi. The disaster, which occurred on the Mandi-Pathankot National Highway 154, saw two buses fall into a gorge due to the landslide. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had announced Rs 5 lakh ex gratia for the families of the deceased.
On August 29, bad weather had caused a train to derail in Maharashtra. Nine coaches of the Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express, a premier train of the Indian railways, had jumped course near Asangaon. Officials had said they suspected heavy rains washing away a portion of the tracks, coupled with a never-ending torrential downpour to be the reason behind the accident.
This is a developing story. More reports are awaited.
