Landslide destroys house in Palampur, owner killed, two family members hurt

One person was killed and two others were injured when a house collapsed in a remote village of Bhawarna block following heavy rain today. The incident occurred in Bari Samana village, 20 km from Palampur. Sheru Ram, the owner of the house, was killed while his two family members were injured and rescued by villagers. Both injured were admitted to nearby hospitals.

In another incident, a heavy landslide hit a house in the Ward No. 12 of the Palampur Municipal Corporation. The occupants of the house managed to come out a few minutes before the incident but the house was completely damaged.

Unprecedented rainfall over the past 72 hours has brought normal life to a complete halt in Palampur, Baijnath and Jaisinghpur areas of Kangra district. Vehicular traffic on the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway remained suspended for hours following heavy landslides near Paror this morning. Later, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) deployed heavy machinery to remove landslide debris and boulders from the highway and restored traffic.

Heavy landslides, flashfloods and uprooted trees have blocked many highways and rural roads, isolating several villages from the rest of the state. Palampur has experienced such a heavy rainfall after 76 years. All rivers are in spate. The administration has appealed to local residents not to go near the riverbeds of the Neugal, Binwa and the Awa as heavy rain was expected in the higher reaches of the Dhauladhars. The local administration has kept the entire official machinery on high alert in Baijnath and Palampur.

The Palampur-Kangra-Una highway remains blocked near old Kangra and Ranital due to massive landslides. The Palampur-Mandi-Manali highway is also closed near Jogindernagar while the Palampur-Jaisinghpur road is closed near Lambagaon. In the lower areas of Palampur, several houses have developed cracks due to subsidence.

In the upper reaches, the Bir-Barot road was again closed following landslides near Rajgundha and Billing. No tourist movement was allowed on this route and access to the Chhota Bhangal region had been blocked. Local rivers and streams are flowing dangerously above the warning level. Roads leading to Kothi Kohar, Kothi Swar and Bara Gram have been closed for vehicular traffic following heavy landslides. The Uhal and Lamb Dag rivers are flowing above the danger mark. In Barot, several buildings have also suffered damage because of heavy rain.

Numerous kachha houses have been damaged while several drinking water schemes have been severely hit, leaving many localities without supply. Power outages are widespread as strong winds and landslides have uprooted trees and damaged power lines. The engineers and the field staff of the HPSEBL have been working round the clock to restore power supply lines by risking their lives.

Reports from the upper areas of the Dhauladhar region say that over 30 villages in Chhota Bhangal and the Chuhar valley are without power supply for the past four days. Despite best efforts, heavy rainfall hampered the restoration work. The district administration has activated 24x7 control rooms in SDM offices at Palampur, Baijnath, Jaisinghpur and Dheera. Officials of the NHAI, Public Works Department (PWD), fire services and the police have been put on high alert.