Houses in Shimla at risk of sinking due to incessant rain

Shimla/Rampur: Several houses across six panchayats in the Nankhari and Kotgarh areas of Shimla district are at risk of sinking due to incessant rains in the area, officials said on Saturday.

Continuous rains in the past few days have led to the sinking of land in a few villages, with several families evacuated to safer places, Deputy Commissioner Shimla Aditya Negi told PTI.

We would request the geological experts to conduct a survey to find the reason behind the sinking of land, he said.

A cloudburst occurred in the upper areas of Jaban in the Anni area of the Kullu district on Friday night, triggering flash floods in Deori Khud.

An alert was sounded and the people living along the river bank were shifted to safer places at midnight.

The flash flood also caused damage to orchards and rendered inaccessible Anni-Barsa road in many places.

A surge in the discharge of water created a flood-like situation also in Kotu Nallah.

Damage has been reported to some houses and other private property and cowsheds, but the situation is normal now as the water has receded and there was no human casualty, Kullu Deputy Commissioner Ashutosh Garg told The PTI.

Heavy rain lashed the Rampur area of Shimla district on Friday night, triggering landslides and blocking the National Highway 5 (Shimla–Kinnaur) at several points including Borni Nallah and Jeori besides links roads.

Water and power supply was cut off at many places and some houses developed cracks after the rain.

"Continuous rain over the past three weeks has made the situation grim. Relief and restoration works are in full swing. Heavy machinery has been deployed to open the roads and people living in endangered houses are being shifted to safer places," Nand Lal, a local MLA from Rampur, said.

Rattan Chand Gautam, a resident from one of the affected areas, said people are afraid of more rain, which has already thrown life out of gear.

"The land is sinking and houses have developed cracks, and water and power supply has been snapped," he said.

The NH–5 has been completely blocked due to a massive landslide near Chaura in the tribal Kinnaur district.

Authorities have advised people against venturing into the landslide-prone area till the roads are opened.

Restoration works are being carried out on a war footing and the roads are likely to be opened soon, officials said.

So far 184 persons have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents in the state since the onset of monsoon on June 24. Thirty-three people have gone missing.

About 700 houses have washed away in the rain, while 7,093 have been partially damaged. The state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 5,536 crore till July 28, according to the state emergency operation centre.

As many as 416 roads are still closed in the state and 632 transformers and 100 water supply schemes are disrupted.

The local Met office issued a yellow alert, warning of more heavy rain On August 2. It has predicted a wet spell in the state till August 4.