Shimla: The Kullu district administration has decided to suspend all adventure sports activities till September 15. and has also issued an yellow alert after heavy rains wreaked havoc in many parts of Himachal Pradesh. The state has been battered by rains, landslides and flash floods since Monday causing concerns over the large influx of tourists in the past few days. Rescuers on Tuesday said seven villagers were rescued from Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district where a massive mudslide triggered by flash floods hit a remote village, damaging several houses and shops and leaving one dead. Nine people are still missing.
The seven people were rescued by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) after an eight-hour operation that started late Monday evening, officials told IANS over phone from the spot. They are suspecting nine people might be trapped either in the mud piles that spread over a large area in the worst affected Rulehar village in the Boh panchayat of Shahpur subdivision or in raging floodwaters. Senior Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan told the media that the rescue operation is on. “The NDRF started its operation around 10 p.m. on Monday after the road to the village was restored by the local administration,” he said. Eleven houses were either washed away or damaged in the flash floods, he said.
The nine missing people of Rulehar village comprise four women. Elsewhere, at least 10 parked cars, largely of tourists, were washed away and houses were partially damaged in flash floods on Monday in upper Dharamsala. Dharamsala, nearly 250 kms from the state capital Shimla, recorded precipitation of 392 mm, the highest ever during this monsoon. The damage to property was reported in the vicinity of McLeodganj, the political, cultural and spiritual hub of the Tibetan diaspora.
(With inputs from agencies)