Rivers in spate, power supply hit in Palampur

Ravinder Sood

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PALAMPUR, JULY 12

The unprecedented heavy rain in the past 24 hours paralysed normal life in Palampur, Baijnath and Jaisinghpur.

A number of roads were closed, dozens of houses and drinking water supply schemes suffered damage and many areas were without electricity. Local rivers were flowing above the danger mark.

A report said there was a cloudburst in the upper area of the Dhauladhars this morning, resulting in flash floods in most of the rivers. Villagers had been advised by the authorities not to go near the Neugal, the Binwa and the Baner as these were in full spate. A number of kucha houses in Palampur suffered damage.

DSP Amit Sharma said no loss of life had been reported from any part of the region. The police were on a high alert. Police personnel and fire-fighting machinery had been kept on the standby mode for evacuating people in case of any mishap.

Palampur and its adjoining areas had been without power since morning as transmission lines were damaged by falling trees on the outskirts of the town. Assistant Engineer, HPSEB, said efforts were on the way to restore the supply.

The traffic on Pathankot-Mandi, Palampur-Hamirpur and Palampur-Jaisinghpur highways was disrupted because of uprooting of trees. Likewise roads leading to Chadhiar and Alampur also suffered heavy damage because of soil erosion and landslides. The road between Bir and Billing was closed following landslides at many points. No tourists were allowed to visit Billing. The traffic to Chhota Bhangal was also suspended.