Tourists evacuated from Chandratal

Shimla: As tourists were evacuated from Chandratal on Thursday, the flashflood in the Beas at Kullu-Manali four days ago has left a trail of destruction, with fresh images showing bodies trapped under vehicles. So far, 19 bodies have been recovered from Kullu and four from Mandi.

The body of a missing PRTC bus driver was recovered from Pandoh Dam. The bus was washed away while going from Kullu to Mandi. SP Soumya Sambasivan said the victim was identified as Satgur Singh (33) of Sangrur district in Punjab.

Meanwhile, even as the task of evacuating 474 stranded tourists at Chandratal in Lahaul-Spiti and Sangla in Kinnaur was accomplished on Thursday, the Himachal Government is struggling to restore normalcy with the casualty figure touching 27.

With the gloomy picture of the trail of destruction still unfolding, the possibility of the casualty figure going up cannot be ruled out. While 1,110 routes are still closed, 5,197 water supply schemes continue to remain affected.

As many as 181 tourists were airlifted by IAF choppers from Sangla and brought to Karcham. The task of evacuating 293 tourists from sub-zero temperatures at Chandratal was also completed as they were shifted safely to Kaza even as their vehicles still remain stuck in snow. As the authorities struggle to restore normalcy, the warning of very heavy rain from July 14 to 17 is giving them sleepless nights.

CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said 80 per cent of the tourists had been safely evacuated. Vehicular movement has been restored on the Solan-Kalka highway. Fissures on the hillside have posed a major threat to over 50 houses in the Shamti area of Solan town, forcing the administration to get the houses vacated. — TNS

30 breaches, Ropar worst hit in Punjab

Ropar: The flooding due to incessant rain has left a trail of destruction in Ropar district of Punjab with at least 30 breaches being reported. Roads have been washed away at 135 points, disrupting connectivity on the Ropar-Chamkaur Sahib, Ropar-Kotla Nihang and Ropar-Surtapur Mand routes.

Hundreds of electricity poles have been uprooted and a large number of houses in more than 350 villages have developed cracks. In Sangrur, the situation has gone from bad to worse due to two more breaches in the Ghaggar at Moonak and Khanauri. The river level has crossed 753 feet, inundating several villages. — TNS

3L acres submerged in Haryana; 16 dead

Chandigarh: The recent downpour has caused massive devastation in Haryana with 3.07 lakh acres of agricultural land in 854 villages submerged and 16 deaths being reported. The rain fury has affected 11 districts, including Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Karnal, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Jhajjar, Fatehabad, Faridabad and Sonepat. North Haryana is the worst-affected. As many as 3,674 persons had been evacuated and 1,819 kept in 12 relief camps across the state, said an official. A total of 126 houses were fully damaged and 106 partially.