Woman, kids die in Theog house collapse

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 26

A woman labourer and her two children were buried alive when their makeshift house collapsed following a landslide by incessant rain in Klibi Patwar circle at Theog of Shimla district early this morning while landslides blocked roads at several places in interior areas.

Nepali labourer Krishna Devi (25) and her minor children Sandeep (6) and Ashu (3) died while her husband Om Prakash and another son Vijay were injured and shifted to hospital, the police said.

Heavy rain lashed Chamba, Mandi, Kullu and Shimla districts and Banjar was the wettest in the region with 91 mm rain, followed by Sundernagar 81 mm, Jogindernagar 74 mm, Mashobra 71 mm, Saloni 67 mm, Kumarsein 66 mm, Shimla 58 mm, Jubbarhatti 52 mm, Bilaspur 48 mm, Dharampur 43 mm, Baijnath 42 mm, Rohru 39 mm, Bharmaur 36 mm, Bangana and Solan 33 mm each, Kandaghat 32 mm, Nahan and Mehre 31 mm, Mandi 27 mm, Bhuntar and Jhanjheli 23 mm, Bijahi and Sarkaghat 22 mm each, Bajura 21 mm, Dharamshala 19 mm and Paonta Sahib 18 mm.

Heavy rain caused landslides blocking roads in interiors of Shimla, Chamba, Mandi and Kullu districts and over 100 roads in interior areas were blocked. Rain and landslides also hampered vehicular traffic and thick fog engulfed the region, forcing the vehicles to move at a snail’s pace with headlights on.

The maximum temperature increased by 1 to 2 degrees and Una was the hottest with a high of 36.8 degree, followed by Sundernagar 33.4 degree, Bhuntar 33.2 degree, Nahan 31.1 degree, Solan 30 degree, Dharamsala 28.4 degree, Kalpa 25.4 degree and Shimla 25 degree C.

There was no appreciable change in the minimum temperature and Kalpa in tribal Kinnaur district was the coldest at night with a low of 13.4 degree, followed by Keylong 13.5 degree while the key tourist resorts of Manali, Dalhousie, Shimla and Dharamsala recorded a low of 13.6 degree, 14.7 degree, 15.1 degree and 15.8 degree C.

The local MeT office has predicted rain and thundershowers at many places in lower, mid and higher hills over six days up to August 1.

Vehicles damaged in cloudburst at Kullu village

KULLU: Two vehicles were reportedly damaged while another was washed away in Manahar Nullah after a cloudburst at Jibhi and Rohanda villages of Banjar of the district yesterday.

The villagers stated that the water level suddenly rose and debris damaged the buildings along the Nallah.

There were reports of heavy rain in Rohtang and the Solang valley of this district today and the Beas was flooded. There were reports of landslides in various parts of the valley, however, there were no reports of loss of life or livestock due to cloudbursts or heavy rainfall. — OC