Rain wrecks havoc in Hamirpur

Water enters houses, roads blocked due to landslides

Dinesh Kanwar

Hamirpur, July 12

Incessant rain wrecked havoc in the district today as many roads in rural areas were blocked due to landslides and uprooted trees. The Ward No. 8 of Hamipur town was flooded with mud flowing from the adjoining nullah. The mud entered many houses, damaging goods and furniture. According to reports, the situation has worsened due to the dumping of dug-up earth in the nullah by people constructing buildings on its bank.

The District Disaster Management Cell has estimated the loss to property at about Rs 50,500 — Rs 30,500 loss to the Electricity Board and Rs 20,000 loss to a private property in the district. The town experienced repeated power outages following the rain.

Vivek Sharma, Executive Engineer, Public Works Department (PWD), said that all roads blocked due to landslides were opened within a few hours. He added that the department had deployed machinery at vulnerable spots.

Debashweta Banik, Deputy Commissioner, said that the administration had put all departments on alert to handle any emergency. She added that people living near riverbanks had been advised to move to safer places. The residents could call phone No. 9459472382 for assistance in case of an emergency.