Himachal Pradesh Rains Highlights: Over 70 Killed in Last 3 Days; Schools, Colleges to Remain Shut on Thursday

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted more heavy rainfall over Uttarakhand for the next 5 days.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted more heavy rainfall over Himachal for the next 2 days.

Due to incessant rains, leading to landslides and flood-like situations in several places, all schools and colleges in Himachal Pradesh to remain closed on Thursday, i.e. August 17.

Due to incessant rains more damages have occurred during August 13, 14 and 15 than in the entire month of July, Onkar Chand Sharma, Principal Secretary, Disaster Management said.

“71 deaths reported in three days from 13th to 15th August. Losses suffered amount to around Rs 7,500 crores, it is expected to rise. In last three days, 2,500 people re-located to safe places in the state,” he said.

About 800 roads are blocked in Himachal Pradesh and the losses suffered by the state since the onset of monsoon since June 24 has crosses Rs 7,200 crore, officials told PTI.

Earlier in July, heavy rains in the state, including in Mandi, Kullu and Shimla, claimed several lives and destroyed property worth crores. Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri has urged the Centre to declare national calamity in Himachal Pradesh and release Rs 2,000 crore for restoration works.

The Education department had ordered closure of all schools and colleges in the state on Wednesday due to inclement weather and the Himachal Pradesh University has suspended teaching activities till August 19.

Several parts of Punjab have received heavy rainfall on Wednesday. See visuals from Rupnagar district.

Parts of West Bengal’s Kolkata on Wednesday received rainfall.

Heavy rain has battered Himachal Pradesh since Sunday, triggering landslides and cloudbursts that blocked several roads and led to house collapse incidents.

The downpour led to more than 500 trees being uprooted in Shimla’s urban areas, posing challenges for locals.

A nearly 157 per cent surge in rainfall over the past few days has resulted in extensive damage across Himachal Pradesh.

“The flood triggered by rains on July 9 not only destroyed our hard work for the year but also destroyed our land in a way we have never seen before. The deluge brought an overwhelming amount of sand, debris and stones, damaging the crops grown on our 12 bighas. A thick layer of almost one-foot high debris now covers our once fertile land,” says Rishabh Saklani, a farmer from Sidhpur panchayat in Dharampur block of Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh.

This year, parts of north India have witnessed incessant rainfall, disrupting normal life and causing devastation in its wake. Several roads were blocked and many people were stranded because of the landslides triggered due to heavy rains.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has sought about Rs 8,000 crore from the Centre to rebuild the state after the devastation due to floods.

Several teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Wednesday began rescue operations to evacuate people in several areas here which were inundated following the release of excess water from the Pong dam, officials said on Wednesday.

The Pong dam, on the Beas river, is brimming after heavy rain in its catchment areas. The water level in the Beas river rose following the release of water from the Pong dam on Tuesday, said Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal.

He added that a breach in the embankment along the Beas river has flooded many villages, including Chechia Chorian, Pakhowal, Kherha, Dalelpur, Padana, Chhina Bet, Nadala, Jagatpur Kalan, Kohlian and Khariaan.

Two Nepalese nationals were killed and five others injured when a house collapsed at Helang near subsidence-hit Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, officials said on Wednesday. There were seven people inside the two-storey house when it collapsed at around 8 pm on Tuesday. Rescue operations were launched immediately after the incident.

One of them died on the spot while the other succumbed to injuries at a hospital early on Wednesday, they said. Five people have been rescued from the rubble of the house out of whom two are in a serious condition, he said.

The house was built near a crusher unit on the banks of the Andalusians river. People working in the crusher unit were living in the house. The deceased were identified as Anmol (19) and Prince (21), both from Nepal.

“Kalka-Shmila rail line is severely affected because of the conditions in Himachal Pradesh. The track is disturbed at 7-8 places. There have been incidents of hill slips and breaches. Total 96 KM rail line has a heritage value,” the Northan Railways said in a statement.

Around 70 pilgrims stranded on the trek route to Madmaheshwar temple in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district were safely evacuated on Wednesday with the help of a helicopter and SDRF personnel, while efforts were underway to rescue over 80 devotees still stuck at the spot, officials said.

More than 200 pilgrims got stranded on the route on Monday when a bridge at Bantoli in Gaundar village broke down following heavy rains. While 52 of them were rescued with the help of ropes by SDRF personnel by Tuesday evening, 70 more were rescued on Wednesday morning in a helicopter, he said.

A total of 122 pilgrims have been rescued so far and it is hoped the rest will be rescued by the afternoon, Ukhimath Sub Divisional Magistrate Jitendra Verma said.

The death toll in the rain fury in Himachal Pradesh rose to 57 on Wednesday with the body of a woman being pulled out of the debris of a collapsed Shiv temple near Summer Hill here, officials said. Heavy rains have battered Himachal Pradesh since Sunday, triggering landslides in Shimla’s Summer Hill, Krishna Nagar and Fagli.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Tuesday that a nearly 157 per cent surge in rainfall over the past few days has resulted in extensive damage across Himachal Pradesh and about 60 people have been killed in the last three days.

The Education department had ordered closure of all schools and colleges in the state on Wednesday due to inclement weather and the Himachal Pradesh University has suspended teaching activities till August 19.

“The challenge is huge, but we will not step back. We will move ahead and make Himachal Pradesh self-reliant in the next four years and it will become the richest and most prosperous state of India in the next 10 years,” says Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

“The river didn’t enter the houses, the houses entered the river. The drainage system of the houses was not managed, and we did not pay attention to the structuring. The laws need to be made stronger, and we will soon act on this,” he added

“Rescue operations are underway at both places of Summer Hill and Krishna Nagar. So far, 13 bodies have been recovered from Shiv Temple in Summer Hill area, whereas one body and one severed head were found in Krishna Nagar,” says Deputy Commissioner Shimla Aditya Negi.

The Yamuna’s water level in Delhi followed a downward trend Wednesday morning after the river crossed the danger mark of 205.33 metres for a brief period on Tuesday following torrential rain in the river’s upper catchment areas over the past two days. According to the Central Water Commission’s (CWC) website, the water level at the Old Railway Bridge stood at 205.14 metres at 8 am on Wednesday.

It had crossed the warning mark of 204.5 metres at 3 pm on Tuesday and rapidly rose to 205.39 metres at 10 pm. “The river may not swell to the evacuation level of 206.00 metres in Delhi unless the hilly region receives more rain,” a CWC official said. Delhi recorded light rain on Wednesday and dry conditions are predicted over the next few days.

At least 56 people have been killed in Himachal Pradesh as rain wreaked havoc in the hill state since Sunday. Torrential rain also ravaged Uttarakhand over the past two days, destroying buildings and causing landslides that breached the national highways to Badrinath, Kedarnath and Gangotri shrines.

Rescue operation underway after several houses collapsed in a landslide in Krishnanagar locality in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla yesterday.