Rain havoc: Chamba district battles floods, devastation

Heavy rains and flash floods have wreaked havoc across Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh, leaving several areas in crisis. The mobile phone and Internet services have been snapped and all roads leading to Chamba have been blocked by landslides.

A major portion of Haloon village was submerged after the Ravi river swelled due to incessant rainfall. At least nine houses have been washed away, and several others are at risk.

The local authorities said that these houses were evacuated well in time; therefore, no casualty was reported from this village.

According to social media reports, soil erosion caused by the strong current of the river has nearly destroyed half the village.

The situation in Dalhousie was also alarming, with local MLA DS Thakur reporting six cloudburst incidents in a single day. Over 50 houses were now under threat, while electricity, water supply and mobile connectivity had been disrupted for the past two days, compounding the hardships of the local residents.

In Bharmour, too, mobile networks were down for two days, said the BJP MLA Dr Janak Raj, adding that even the district administration was struggling to establish contacts for rescue and restoration works. There were fears that devotees on the Mani Mahesh Yatra may have been stranded at a few locations. The district administration has requested the Army assistance to restore connectivity and aid in rescue operations.

A few pilgrims, who reported of health issues, were rescued by helicopter from Bharmour. The whereabouts of the pilgrims stranded at locations, other than Bharmour, were not known due to poor connectivity of communication systems.