Heavy rains claim three lives, tourists stranded in Himachal

Shimla, July 9 Heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday claimed three lives of a family and hundreds, largely tourists, were stranded across the state as incessant rainfall for the second straight day triggered landslides and snapped over 700 road links, officials said.

The Chandigarh-Manali highway beyond Mandi town and the Pinjore-Baddi highway were hit.

Manali and Kullu towns were cut off from rest of the state.

Three members of a family were killed in Kumarsain tehsil of Shimla district when boulders fell on their house. The police, the NDRF and Home Guards have rescued five migrant laborers near Chhuruhadu in Kullu.

The famous Panchvaktra temple of Mandi city submerged in flood waters. Also several vehicles parked along the Beas river in Manali were washed away in the gushing waters.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu expressed grief over the death of three family members. He said the district administration has been directed to provide immediate relief to the affected family. He ordered closure of all schools in the state on July 10 and 11 in the wake of heavy rain.

Sukhu appealed to the people to avoid going near the rivers and rivulets, besides remaining vigilant amidst the ongoing adverse weather conditions.

Owing to heavy rain with possibility of snowfall in high altitude areas, the government on Saturday stopped the two-week long Shrikhand Mahadev pilgrimage, considered tougher than the journey to the Amarnath cave shrine in Kashmir, till Monday.

A day earlier, three devotees went missing during the pilgrimage. The rescue team recovered one body, while two were still missing, Deputy Superintendent of Police Chandrashekhar Kayath told the media. He said the search operation was hampered owing to bad weather.

An official of the local Met office told IANS there are chances of heavy rainfall at several places in the state till Monday. Incessant rain has also caused massive landslides on national highways in Shimla, Kinnaur, Mandi and Kullu districts, hampering vehicular traffic.

Due to heavy rains on the Kalka-Shimla track, all trains have been canceled due to falling of stones and mud from the mountains.

The water level in the major rivers of the state -- the Satluj, Beas and Yamuna -- which enter the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana has also increased, a government official told IANS. The crucial Chakki bridge at the national highway 154 has been closed for vehicular traffic till further orders. The bridge links Punjab with Himachal Pradesh.

The 40-year-old bridge connecting Banjar with Aut in Kullu district has collapsed.

Acting Director General of Police Satwant Atwal said 12 employees of the Veterinary Department, who went to study the grasslands of Bhawa Kanda, have been stuck in Bhawa valley in Kinnaur.

“Senior Superintendent of Police Vivel Chahal is in touch with them and a rescue team of police and ITBP is being sent to the spot,” she informed in a tweet.

In another tough operation in the Himalayas, rescuers managed to establish contact with nearly 200 tourists and 100 potters stranded in the vicinity of the glacial-fed Chandertal or moon lake in Spiti Valley. They have been stranded owing to snapping of road links.

“All tourists stranded at Chandertal are all safe and healthy. Rescue operations have started. The police control room has started calling families of tourists and is assuring them of the tourists’ wellbeing,” said a senior police official.

He told IANS that Superintendent of Police Mayank Chaudhary was on the spot to supervise the relief and rescue operation.

The Chandertal lake -- a crescent-shaped basin surrounded by the Himalayas -- is located at an elevation of 14,100 ft. The lake is accessible only during the summer. In winter, it remains frozen.

Earlier, 30 college students, who were travelling from Spiti to Manali, were rescued to safety after snapping of the road link owing to flash floods and landslides in high mountains.

The district administration was informed on Saturday evening that the group was stranded between Gramphu and Chota Dharra in Lahaul subdivision. They were travelling in two vehicles.

It said flash floods and landslides blocked NH 505 (Sumdo Kaza-Gramphu) at different locations between Gramphu and Dharra.

The Meteorological Centre in Shimla in a statement warned of moderate to high flashflood risk over few watersheds and neighborhood of Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Shimla, Sirmaur and Mandi districts till Monday. It added surface runoff and inundation may occur at some fully saturated watersheds and low-lying areas due to expected persistent rainfall.