Flashflood wreaks havoc in Kullu village, five houses damaged

A devastating flashflood in the Nauni Nala of Urtu village, under the Rahanu panchayat in Nirmand subdivision of Kullu district, has caused widespread destruction, leaving several families homeless. The flashflood, triggered by the heavy downpour today, severely damaged five houses and impacted several others, along with shops, vehicles, cowsheds and apple orchards.

According to Rahanu panchayat pradhan Tejaswi, the sudden flood brought heavy debris which inundated the bus stand and nearby Urtu village. The house of Surat Ram in Urtu suffered severe damage, while properties belonging to Harish Kumar, Moti Ram, Uttam Ram, Heera Lal, Shiv Ram and Birma Devi were also affected.

In addition to homes, cowsheds belonging to Laji Ram, Durga Singh and Ghanshyam were damaged. Fruit-laden apple orchards of Devinder Singh and Ghanshyam were also destroyed by landslides caused by the downpour.

Six shops in the Urtu market and six parked vehicles were buried under the debris. Meanwhile, houses of Binu Ram, Jeet Ram and Hardayal, which were at risk, were evacuated as precaution. The displaced families have been provided shelter in the Agriculture Department building and private homes.

SDM Nirmand Manmohan Singh confirmed the extent of the damage and stated that a revenue team has been dispatched to assess the losses. Relief efforts will begin as soon as the damage report is finalised. The SDM stated that no human loss was reported in this incident.

In a related incident, the Nither–Bagipul–Nirmand road was severely damaged near Urtu due to the same flashflood. Around 200m length of the road was washed away, cutting off several villages in the Nither sub-tehsil from the Nirmand sub-divisional headquarters.

The SDM stated that road restoration work is going on and, weather permitting, normal traffic is expected to resume within few days. Meanwhile, villagers have demanded urgent repairs to ease their daily hardships caused by the road disruption.