SHIMLA/DHARAMSHALA: The
Himachal Pradesh government has ordered closure of all schools in three districts on Monday after rain and snowfall lashed many areas of the state, officials said on Sunday.
The Met Office has forecast heavy rains and snowfall in the upper hills till Monday.
All government and private schools will remain closed in Kinnaur, Kullu and Kangra districts, officials said.
Several roads in various parts of the state, especially in Kinnaur and Chamba districts, were blocked due to landslides, heavy rains and snowfall, district officials said.
Twenty stranded people were rescued from the
Rohtang Pass, which saw about four feet of fresh snowfall on Sunday, a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) official said.
Chamba sub-divisional magistrate has warned the people not to go near the Ravi river and other nullahs as water is being released from the Chamera dam.
The water level in Beas is increasing due to incessant rains in the catchment areas. In Kangra, the Larji dam gates are being opened and, if the situation persists, the shutters of Pandoh dam can be opened at any time, officials said, adding that it had been raining continuously in Jawali town since Saturday evening.
The river was also in spate in Hamirpur district. There was no supply of drinking water in various areas of the district as there was no power. There was heavy loss to the crops, officials said.
State Forest Minister Govind Singh Thakur visited the flood-affected areas of Kullu district to take stock of the situation, along with district Deputy Commissioner Yunus, an official said.
The state received moderate-to-heavy rainfall since Saturday, with Naina Devi town in Bilaspur district being the wettest with 178.2 mm of rainfall. Sarkaghat town in Mandi district recorded 137 mm of rain, followed by Mehre (132.6 mm), Manali (127.4 mm), Dharamshala (125.2 mm) and Kasauli (105 mm), the meteorological department said. Shimla received 47.1 mm of rain.
Kalpa was the coldest place with minimum temperature of nine degrees Celsius. In Dalhousie, the minimum temperature was 10.1 degrees Celsius, followed by Kufri (10.6 degrees), Manali (10.8 degrees), Shimla (13 degrees).
