Six houses swept away as cloudburst ravages Boh Valley in Kangra; no casualties reported

A cloudburst triggered by incessant rain wreaked havoc in Boh Valley of Kangra's Shahpur subdivision on Monday. Six houses in the Spedu and Gharghoon villages were washed away, while nearby Lam village remained under threat as authorities raced to prevent further damage. No casualties have been reported so far.

As per the District Emergency Operation Centre report, the cloudburst struck the upper reaches of Boh Valley, sending torrents of water and debris crashing into the affected villages and washing away six houses. Deputy Commissioner Kangra Hemraj Bairwa said almost the entire Kangra district had been experiencing heavy rains since Tuesday morning, resulting in a cloudburst in Boh Valley in Shahpur subdivision where houses, cowsheds and other private property had been damaged.

"The Shahpur SDM is on the way to the affected villages. Although the road was blocked at two to three places, teams from the Public Works Department and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are clearing the route. Revenue officials have already reached the spot," Bairwa said, adding that preliminary reports confirmed damage to six houses in Spedu and Gharghoon villages.

"The biggest relief is that no loss of life has been reported," said Bairwa. The Deputy Commissioner said SDRF and NDRF teams had been put on alert and mobilised for rescue and relief operations. "Affected residents are being shifted to safer locations, with the administration arranging temporary shelter, food, drinking water and other essential supplies," he added.

Bairwa said there were no reports of major landslides elsewhere in the district. While the Palampur highway has been reopened after being briefly blocked, machinery has been deployed to clear debris from link roads affected by rain-triggered landslides.

Meanwhile, water supply in several parts of Dharamsala has been disrupted after a landslide in the Ghera forest area damaged the main transmission pipeline carrying water from the Ghera drinking water source. Bairwa said water was currently being supplied through the Naddi Water Treatment Plant. However, due to limited availability, water rationing may be introduced temporarily.

He said repair work on the damaged pipeline was underway on a war footing, but continuous rainfall was delaying restoration. The Deputy Commissioner urged residents to use water judiciously and assured that normal water supply would be restored at the earliest.