As rain batters Himachal, 842 roads out of bounds for motorists

Over 842 roads, including three national highways, remain blocked and about 728 distribution transformers are down as torrential rain continues to batter Himachal Pradesh.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, 286 roads are shut in Chamba district, 198 (including NH-03) in Mandi, 176 (including NH-305) in Kullu, 61 in Kangra, 38 in Sirmaur, 28 in Shimla, 21 in Una, 14 in Lahaul-Spiti, 10 in Bilaspur, eight in Solan and one in Hamirpur. NH-05 in Kinnaur has also been blocked at several points due to landslides.

Of the 728 disrupted transformers, 363 are in Chamba, 225 in Kullu, 123 in Mandi, nine in Lahaul-Spiti, three in Shimla, two each in Kangra and Solan, and one in Kinnaur, leaving several areas without power supply.

Similarly, 456 water supply schemes have been hit — 212 in Kangra, 93 in Chamba, 56 in Mandi, 52 in Shimla, 39 in Kullu and four in Solan — severely affecting drinking water in these districts.

In Shimla, two persons were injured and at least five houses damaged in landslides triggered by incessant rain in the past 24 hours. In Thala village of Rampur subdivision, Hemant and Pyare Lal were injured after their houses collapsed; both were taken to nearby medical facilities. Three houses in Sheel village, owned by Tulsi Das, Lekh Raj and Harish Kumar, were also damaged. The district administration has taken stock of the situation.

The Meteorological Department has issued an orange weather warning for August 31 and yellow warnings for September 1 and 2, with heavy rain likely to continue in isolated areas until September 2.

Chamba recorded the highest rainfall in the state at 110 mm during the past 24 hours, followed by Dharamsala (69.4 mm), Shimla (62 mm), Nahan (60.1 mm), Palampur (60 mm), Kangra (40.8 mm), Narkanda (40 mm), Manali (24 mm), Chamba town (14 mm) and Bhuntar (8.6 mm).