House, farmland, 7 grinding mills washed away in Kullu

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, August 18

Cloudbursts at Chhalal village and Dhundhi damaged properties and flooded nullahs near the south portal of the Rohtang tunnel on Friday night.

Kullu DC Yunus Khan said a house was washed away at Chhalal village, while another was damaged at Rasol village. Seven water-powered grinding mills were damaged in Chhalal and four at Rasol village. He said 8-bigha land was washed away, causing huge losses to six families. No loss of life was reported.

Water pumps of the company engaged in the tunnel excavation were also damaged at Dhundhi. Water from the Larji and Pandoh dams was released. A road was washed away near Vashisht and a house damaged. “The water level has risen in the Beas and an alert has been sounded. Teams have been sent to assess the damage and relief will be given to those affected,” the DC said.

Water released from Pandoh, Larji dams

• Shimla: The authorities on Saturday released excess water from the Pandoh dam, located 112 km upstream of the Pong dam, as a precautionary measure, resulting in a rise in the water level in the Beas.
• The excess water was also released from the Larji dam, located upstream of Pandoh.
• Officials said the water was released as the inflow in both dams rose owing to heavy rainfall in the catchment of the Parbati, a major tributary of the Beas, in the Manikaran valley in Kullu district.
• There were reports of flash floods early Saturday in the valley and in Dhundi in upper Manali town but there were no reports of any loss of life. 
•  However, the inflow of water into the Pong and Bhakra dam increased, but the authorities said there was no need to worry as the reservoirs still had the surplus capacity to hold  additional water. —IANS