Landslides claim 4 more lives in Himachal, Kalka-Shimla Highway blocked

Shimla/Rampur: Landslides claimed four more lives in Shimla and the Shimla-Kalka highway was blocked Monday morning as heavy rains wreaked havoc in the hill state for the third day, police said.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said 16 or 17 people were killed in rain-related incidents in the state in the last two days.

Twenty people stranded in Himachal Pradesh's tourist town of Manali were rescued but about 300 others were stuck across various parts of the hill state, officials said.

Three people died after a landslide struck a house in Theog subdivision of Shimla on Monday morning. The incident occurred in Pallavi village and the deceased were identified as Deep Bahadur, Devdasi and Mohan Bahadur, police said.

The body of an elderly woman, who was trapped under debris following a landslide in Rajhana village on the outskirts of Shimla city, was retrieved on Sunday night, hours after the body of her granddaughter was recovered from the site.

On Monday morning, the meteorological department issued a "red" alert for "extremely heavy rain", a day after heavy rain pounded the state, triggering landslides, and damaging houses.

Officials said rail operations on the Shimla-Kalka route, a UNESCO world heritage site, have been suspended till Tuesday as landslides blocked the track at several places while educational institutions across the state were ordered to remain shut on Monday and Tuesday.

The Shimla-Kalka National Highway was blocked near Shoghi, about 16 km from the capital city, following a landslide on Monday.

More than 120 roads are blocked in the district while 484 water supply schemes have been affected, officials said.

Incidents of uprooting of trees, roof collapse and damage to property are being reported and so far 10 houses and 20 vehicles have been damaged, Shimla police officials told PTI.

Kresha, a resident of Rampur, said due to the sudden rise in the water level of the Sutlej River, we had to leave the place.

Raveena, who lives along the banks of the rives, said water has entered her house and appealed to the government to help those affected by the deluge.

"Our gaushala has been washed away and cattle have been released but there is no place for giving them shelter and we are facing serious problems," said Sulochana, a worker at a gaushala in Rampur.

The Home Guards rescued 20 people from Manali on Monday, officials said, adding around 300 persons were stranded in various parts of the state.

Using anchored rope, harness and crane, a team of the 14th battalion of the NDRF rescued six people stranded in Nagwayin village due to the rise in the water level of Beas River in a late-night operation on Sunday, officials said.

Sukhu, in a video released on Monday morning, appealed to the people to avoid venturing out in heavy rains, especially near rivers and nullahs, and remain vigilant for the next 24 hours as the Met department has warned of heavy rains.

He also asked all the MLAs to stay in their respective constituencies and help the people in this hour of distress.

He said that the state government has released three numbers - 1100, 1070 and 1077 -- to help people in distress.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri informed that 4,680 schemes of the Jal Shakti Department have been damaged and the loss is estimated at Rs 323.30 crore.

The Chandigarh-Manali National Highway is blocked due to landslides and flooding at several places and Shimla-Kinnaur road is also closed for vehicular traffic due to slides and falling of rocks.

Superintendent of Police Mayank Chaudhary, who is on the spot, said that all the people are safe and food and essential medicines have been arranged. They would be rescued soon as the road is restored, he said.

As many as 876 bus routes of Himachal Road Transport Corporation were affected and 403 buses were stuck at different places due to heavy rains.

Himachal Pradesh received 271.5 mm of rainfall during the monsoon season from July 1 to July 9, against normal rainfall of 160.6 mm, an excess of 69 per cent.