Over 550 roads blocked in Himachal; rainfall to continue across state till September 20

As many as 568 roads, including three national highways, remain blocked across the state as heavy rainfall continues to wreak havoc in Himachal Pradesh.

As per the State Emergency Operation Centre, about 176 roads are blocked in Mandi, 172 including NH 03 and NH 305 in Kullu, 58 in Shimla, 46 in Kangra, 29 in Chamba, 24 in Sirmaur, 23 including NH 503A in Una, 17 in Solan, 14 in Bilaspur, seven in Hamirpur and two in Kinnaur district.

Also, as many as 373 transformers including 214 in Mandi, 128 in Kullu, 26 in Chamba, four in Shimla and one in Kangra district as well as 188 water supply schemes including 61 in Shimla, 53 in Mandi, 27 in Hamirpur, 26 in Chamba, 17 in Kangra, two in Sirmaur and one each in Solan and Bilaspur district also remain disrupted, leaving many areas without electricity and drinking water supply.

So far, Himachal Pradesh has suffered total loss of Rs 4,489.05 crore while around 229 persons have lost their lives as a result of various natural disasters that were triggered by torrential rain in the state during the monsoon season. The state has witnessed 140 landslides, 97 flash floods and 46 cloudbursts, leading to immense losses across the state.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall continued to occur in many places of the state during the last 24 hours. Dharamsala received 232.4 mm rain, which was the highest in the state. Palampur in Kangra district received 126.4 mm rain, Sundernagar 77.6 mm, Kangra 30.7 mm, Mandi 26.2 mm, Nahan 14.6 mm, Kufri 14.2 mm and Shimla 11.4 mm.

As per the State’s Meteorological Department, rainfall is expected to continue in many parts of Himachal Pradesh till September 20.