Undeterred by enormous hardships after rain-battering, Himachal Pradesh locals extend helping hand to stranded tourists

Monica Chauhan

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Chandigarh, July 13

Rain-battered Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses worth thousands of crores and it would take a very long time for the locals to get back to normal as the monsoon fury has left deep scars.

With little cash in hand, ATMs not working, mobile and electricity connections snapped, it’s not only the tourists, but even the locals are facing hardships in rain-affected areas.

Still, several houses, hotels and tourism units have offered free stay and food to the stranded tourists.

Having suffered immense damages, the locals have been still trying to help tourists with limited essentials at home.

A family in Manali’s Rangari said they were at a loss for words as they had not seen such rains ever. The family provided shelter to six persons, including a baby, who had come from Punjab. “We are trying to provide free shelter to all those who are in need,” said Sudha Thakur, a resident of Rangari.

Calling it a test for humanity, Sudha Thakur said it was difficult even for the locals due to lack of potable water, power and communication services. “We hadn’t stocked much food as little did we know it would rain so much. It’s difficult, but we are trying to help as many people as we can,” she said.

A tourist from Bengal said though they would leave the place, the worries of the locals would remain. “Properties worth crores have been lost. Wonder how they will cope up,” the tourist said.

The Himachal Pradesh government has geared up to rescue every stranded tourist in the state. Their worry would be of those who had stayed in illegal home stays and they don’t have data to establish the real number of people entering the Kullu Valley. However, as of now the government’s priority is to rescue all of them safely.

Eight Himachal towns–Manali, Solan, Rohru, Una, Ghamroor, Pachhad, Hamirpur and Keylong—saw all previous records of single-day July rainfall being breached, the Met office said.

The Himachal CM on Thursday said approximately 10,000 tourists were stranded in Kasol and Tirthan Valley due to damaged roads. “We are facilitating the transportation of these tourists by transshipment, utilising jeeps and HRTC buses, from the points where the road is damaged. About 60,000 stranded tourists have been successfully evacuated from Himachal Pradesh till 9 am on Thursday,” he said. Another 266 stranded tourists have been rescued from snowbound Chandertal in Lahaul and Spiti, which was a “challenging task” as it was freezing cold there with three to four feet of snow. Minister Jagat Singh Negi, who hails from the tribal Kinnaur district and is acquainted with the harsh topography, assisted in the rescue work.

Heavy rains pounded the state, triggering landslides, damaging houses and leaving several people dead. With raging waters washing away cars and roads, submerging fields and gushing into residential areas, it was havoc in parts Himachal Pradesh.