M A I N   N E W S

Heavy rain claims 11 lives in HP
Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 12
Eleven persons were killed, about two dozen houses either collapsed or suffered damage, six bridges washed away as widespread heavy rain over the past 24 hours played havoc with private and public property in most parts of the state.

Power generation in the 1,500-MW Nathpa Jhakri project and the 300-MW Baspa project in Kinnaur district stopped as high level of silt in the Sutlej and the Baspa forced the authorities to shut down the power plants.

While five persons were killed and 20 houses collapsed in Mandi district, in Bilaspur district two persons washed away in flash floods in the Seer khad and one person was electrocuted in Kalol village.

Two bridges on the Seer khad were also damaged, while another bridge on the road leading to Nalagarh was also washed away.

Shobhna Singh, a journalist with Zee TV, died when her vehicle came under debris of a landslide near Chatdu in Lahaul-Spiti district. She was on way to Chandertal for the coverage of celestial spectacle of falling meteors.

In Kangra district, one person was killed in a house collapse, while two were missing after a landslide buried some shops in Jwalamukhi. A boy was killed in Hamirpur and one person was washed away along with his car in Kinnaur district.

A bridge on the Tagning nullah on the Purbani road and another on the Sangla-Chitkulthe road were washed in HP away as a result of which several villages in Kinnaur district were cut off.

All link roads to Taklesh, Nankheri, Dalash and Mashnu from Rampur were blocked by landslides that affected the transportation of apple cartons.

Sundernagar received the highest rainfall of 245 mm, followed by Shimla (161 mm), Bhuntar (56 mm), Una (63 mm) and Kalpa (28 mm).

CHANDIGARH: Madhopur in Punjab received 144 mm of rain, while Barnala 20 mm. The Nangal dam area received 88.2 mm, while the Shahpur Kandi belt 170 mm, meteorological department officials said.

It continued to pour in Chandigarh for the second consecutive day on Sunday affecting normal life.

Jagadhri in Haryana received 54 mm, Ambala three mm, Naraingarh 23 mm, Sadhoura eight mm, Mustafabad 46 mm, Panchkula 20 mm, Kalka 29 mm, Panipat two mm and Bhiwani and Tosham one mm each of rain. — PTI