Flash floods throw life out of gear
From Our Correspondent

KANGRA, Aug 25 — Most parts of the Kangra town were flooded this morning following the night-long incessant rains which threw life out of gear for more than four hours.

Flood water entered houses and shops in the town forcing residents to take to streets and blocking the Dharmsala-Chandigarh highway for two hours in protest against faulty drainage in the town. Drainage executed by the PWD Department to withstand monsoon emergencies crumpled leaving several roads lanes and bylanes and many localities flooded.

Flood water left the Dharmsala road, submerged making the town cut off from general bus stand, passengers in hundreds and nearly 1000 students were came to the town for education in different schools and colleges from other parts of the district were stranded at the bus stand. Rain water flooded Jayanti Vihar, Vivekananda Vihar, Bhajreswari Vihar, new bus stand, Rehalpura, areas near old cinema house and government polytechnic college. Water entered most of the shops on the Dharmsala road area. Water also entered residential area of Vivekananda Vihar, Jayanti Vihar and Rehalpora.

Waters damaged a few buildings too. Flood water which was more than five feet in the polytechnic college campus has left residents in the polytechnic college inundated due to floods. Mr I.D. Sharma, Principal of the government polytechnic college said that flood waters which frequently enter the college campus has pose a threat to newly constructed administrative block, other old buildings and residential areas. He alleged that drainage work done in the college was not proper and there was no flood water drainage behind the Administrative Block.

Blockade was removed after two hours by the irate mob when the SDM Mr R.L. Rao and Tehsildar Mr M.R. Sharma, intervened and assured action to control floods.

The road connecting Kangra and the tourist resort of Palampur via Jogipur was damaged due to floods and residents of the area complained that the PWD had ignored this road for political reasons.

SDM R.L. Rao called a meeting of the residents and the PWD authorities to sort out the issue. The town during the current monsoon season experienced such floods frequently. Recently town remained without drinking water for four days as the water supply was disrupted the mission hospital due to a landslide.

Local residents today resented that the Local Minister Vidiya Sagar who was in the town did not bother to visit the affected areas.

DALHOUSIE (UNI): Property worth Rs 6 crore has been damaged in the past one week in alpine Chamba region of Himachal by heavy rains.

An official spokesman told UNI here today that the roads in Chamba district have been badly damaged due to landslips triggered by cloudburst and flashfloods. The damage done to the roads alone is estimated at Rs 3.50 crore.

Thirteen families from Karfrt village in the district were evacuated to "safer places" after their houses were washed away on August 19, he said.

A woman who was injured in Bhattiyar area had been hospitalised, he added.

Twentytwo houses, nine bridges, six watermills, six buffaloes, and two goats had been washed away from Sikridhar belt, Charoli, Julara and Sillaghrat hill sides of Churah and Chamba tehsils, he added.

He said authorities had, so far, distributed belief material worth Rs 33,000 to the affected families.

The state government had directed revenue officials to provide all possible assistance to the affected families of the cloudburst-hit areas, the spokesman added.

Authorities, so far, distributed an immediate relief of Rs 33,000 to affected families besides providing blankets to them.

The state government had directed revenue officials to provide all possible assistance to displaced families and other affected families of the cloudburst-hit areas, the spokesman added.