Himachal Pradesh: 63 Dead, ₹400 Crore Worth Property Damaged Due To Heavy Rains

(MENAFN- Live Mint) As many as 63 people have died while ₹400 crore worth of property has been damaged due to incessant rains in Himachal Pradesh, even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a rain alert until July 7, warning of continued heavy showers in the hill state.

The Thunag sub-division of Mandi district has been the worst-hit so far, with roads impassable and essential services such as electricity and water supply affected.

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"We have recorded over ₹400 crore in losses so far, as entered in our system. But the actual damage is likely to be much higher. Our primary focus at the moment is on search, rescue, and restoration," DC Rana, Special Secretary of the State Disaster Management Authority and Revenue Department, said.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukh 's Media Advisor Naresh Chauhan said:“63 dead, 40 missing due to cloudbursts and other rain-related disasters in the state.”

40 people missing in Mandi

In Mandi alone, 40 people are reportedly missing. On Thursday, he death toll in the cloudburst and flash flood-related incidents in Mandi has mounted to 14, officials said. Relief camps have been set up, and food packets were air-dropped by the Indian Air Force to affected areas, officials said.

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More than 150 houses, 106 cattle sheds, 31 vehicles, 14 bridges and several roads were damaged in the calamities. A total of 164 cattle perished, while 402 people, 348 of them in Mandi, were rescued, and five relief camps have been set up, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.

The inclement weather has sent 246 roads, 145 in Mandi district, out of bounds for traffic, and disrupted 404 transformers and 784 water supply schemes in the past few days in the state, the SEOC said.

The Manali-Keylong road was blocked following floods in a drain near the Solang Nallah. The traffic in the area has been diverted to Rohtang Pass.

A massive landslide was reported in Dhalli in the suburbs of Shimla, where a chunk of hill came down sliding. No casualty was reported there.

According to reports, about half a dozen houses were left in a precarious state after a four-lane road embankment on the Kaithlighat-Dhalli stretch collapsed in Lindidhar village, damaging a large number of apple trees.

The safety wall had collapsed earlier also, but no steps were taken to bolster it, locals alleged, and blamed the National Highway Authority of India for the incident.

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Due to road closures and poor network connectivity, field coordination remains a challenge, and Intra Circle Roaming (ICR) has been activated by the Department of Telecommunications DoT in the Thunag area. Apart from this, ISATs have also been mobilised to the area for emergency communication, he said.

NDRF teams on ground

The Jal Shakti department has activated gravity-based small schemes after chlorination to ensure a safe drinking water supply in some villages.

Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Forc (SDRF), and police and home guards are engaged in search and rescue operations in Mandi.

A total of 246 kits of ration have been air dropped in Thunag and Janjheli, Sukhu said.

Addressing a press conference in Mandi, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Jairam Thakur said that his constituency, Seraj, has been the worst-hit, with 500 houses suffering damage.

We have recorded over ₹400 crore in losses so far, but the actual damage is likely to be much higher.

(With agency inputs)

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