Sirmaur drowns in deluge: Landslide buries home, livestock; roads cut off, crops destroyed

Torrential rain pounding Sirmaur for the last two days has transformed the quiet valleys into scenes of devastation. Hillsides have crumbled, rivers have swollen and daily life has been disrupted.

A house and cowshed disappeared under mounds of mud and boulders as a landslide hit Chauras village of Nauhradhar. Sheela Devi, wife of Mohan Lal, and eight cattle were buried alive under the debris. Officials offered Rs 25,000 in emergency relief to those affected.

Across the district, roads stand broken and blocked. The lifeline Paonta Sahib-Shillai-Gumma national highway 707 is also buried near Kacchi Dang, while the Nahan-Sarahan-Kumarhatti-Shimla route has turned treacherous at several points.

“It feels like we are cut off from the world,” said a stranded passenger at Gandhi Gram. The Public Works Department has counted more than 145 roads rendered impassable. Though work is ongoing, over 40 Himachal Roadways buses remain trapped.

Near Bhureshwar Mahadev temple, villagers reported the thunderclap of a cloudburst that swelled streams. In Narag, a car vanished into a raging nullah. In the plains, the Giri river rose and engineers at Jaiton barrage were forced to throw open seven floodgates.

“The water level was rising every minute. If we hadn’t opened the gates, the structure itself could have been in danger,” a worker explained. The opening of floodgates has now placed low-lying settlements under the looming threat of floods, while both the Giri and Yamuna rivers in Paonta Sahib surge close to danger marks.

In Bangran village, panic took hold as the river gnawed away at the land near the bridge. Administration teams evacuated over 50 people to safety. The river tore into the Lift Irrigation Scheme, swallowing pumps, pipes and infrastructure. “Years of work have been washed away in a single night,” lamented a villager.

The damage has even seeped into classrooms. In Chandog, the Anganwadi Centre collapsed. The nearby primary school fared no better, with floodwaters invading its walls.

Maize and paddy crops, just weeks from harvest, lie flattened under sheets of water and sludge. In hamlets across Pachhad and Renuka, villagers say that losses that may take years to recover.

Authorities have appealed for caution, urging residents to stay away from swollen rivers and unstable slopes.