Kiratpur-Manali road blocked following landslide; heavy rain to continue in Himachal till Aug 15

The Kiratpur-Manali four-lane road has been blocked as a result of shooting stones near Mehla village in Bilaspur district, causing inconvenience to commuters.

However, no loss of life has been reported in the incident.

According to police, the landslide took place on Sunday, blocking the road, due to which it has been disrupted for all types of vehicles. As a precautionary measure, the district police have suspended the movement of all vehicles, beyond Mandi Bharari Chowk. Vehicles en route to Chandigarh from Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Mandi and Kullu have been diverted to Nauni Chowk via Mandi Bharari Bridge, from where they have been advised to commute via NH 205 to Swarghat to proceed towards Kiratpur.

Similarly, vehicles en route to Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Mandi, Kullu and Manali from Chandigarh are being diverted from Swarghat to Nauni Chowk, from where they can proceed via the four-lane.

Bilaspur SP Abhishek Dhiman said that to ensure public safety and smooth traffic management, vehicles travelling between Bilaspur and Chandigarh are advised to use the alternative routes.

He appealed to people to commute only via the prescribed alternative route and cooperate with traffic police.

As many as 118 roads continue to remain blocked across the state as a result of damage caused by torrential rains. As per the State Emergency Operation Centre, of the total blocked roads, 44 are in Mandi, 39 in Kullu, 13 in Shimla, seven in Chamba, six in Sirmaur, five in Kangra, three in Una and one in Solan.

Meanwhile, heavy rain is likely to continue across Himachal till August 15 for which orange and yellow alerts have been issued.

For August 10, orange alerts have been issued for Kangra and Sirmaur, resulting in heavy to very heavy rain in isolated places of these districts. Similarly, yellow alerts have been issued for Solan, Mandi and Bilaspur, resulting in heavy rain in isolated places of these districts. Light to moderate rain is expected in other parts of the state.