Bridge linking Jalandhar with P’kot faces threat

Rajiv mahajan

Nurpur, August 13

Torrential rain in lower Kangra for the past two days has triggered landslides, blocking most of the roads in the Mand area in Indora subdivision.

Rampant illegal mining in the Chakki rivulet is posing a threat to the railway bridge near Dhangupeer, two km from Pathankot Cantt railway station. If the bridge is damaged, the track between Jalandhar and Pathankot will be completely cut off.

As many as 20 villages in the area are waterlogged. Residents of Mand-Ghadran village have shifted to safer places. Paniali, Malahari, Chanduee, Kangar, Ghagwan and Ghadran-Mand villages are without power supply for the past over 15 hours. The Indora-Bhadukhar road was blocked following a massive landslides. A valley bridge on the Gagwal-Snor link road also washed away. The administration has closed the Dhangupeer-Mazra road.

In Nurpur, a local rivulet changed its course in Chandran village this morning and water entered nearly 200 houses. The villages remained marooned for several hours with water from rivers and rivulets flowing all over.

Two kutcha houses collapsed in Haler village while water entered houses in Chhatrolli and Nagabari. Traffic on the Pathankot-Mandi national highway remained suspended for over two hours after a big tree uprooted at Kandwal, near here.

Youth dies after cycle slips on muddy road

• One youth, identified as Darshan Kumar (27), died when his cycle slipped on a muddy road and fell into a ditch at Bhuned in Salooni subdivision. Four houses and five cowsheds collapsed while nine houses were partially damaged due to heavy rain in the past 24 hours in Chamba district.
• Official reports received here on Monday said 30 villages were affected due to the rain. A loss of about Rs 12 crore had been caused to public and private properties, the reports further said.