Vehicles, crops damaged in Bilaspur cloudburst

Several vehicles were damaged due to a landslide triggered by a cloudburst at Gutrahan village near Namhol in the Naina Devi Assembly constituency of Bilaspur district in the wee hours of today. The cloudburst led to flashfloods in a nullah that swept a huge amount debris to the road, leading to a traffic jam and damaging vehicles parked on the roadside. At least two vehicles were buried under debris and vast agricultural land and crops were damaged due to the cloudburst. However, no casualty was reported in the incident.

Gushing floodwaters carrying debris scattered all over agricultural land, said Kashmir Singh, a villager whose land and crops were damaged.

The district disaster management authority sprang into action to restore the road. Local villager Hoshiar Singh said that floodwaters carrying huge amounts of debris swept away agricultural land and muck entered some houses, too.

Deputy Commissioner Rahul Kumar said that four vehicles were buried under debris. He added that crop damage was being assessed and relief would be provided to the affected people after the report was submitted.

Officials reached the spot and took stock of the situation. The Public Works Department begun removing debris to restore traffic at the earliest.

Meanwhile, at least five houses were damaged and two of these were vacated following incidents of subsidence at Samtana Khurd village in Hamirpur district this morning. Villagers Amro Devi, Chintaram and Roshan Lal said that their land had sank in 2023, too.

A team of experts had collected soil samples to determine the cause of subsidence but the report was yet to be released. Chintram said that due to heavy rainfall, their houses had developed cracks as the adjacent land was continuously sinking.

Rajendra Gautam, SDM, Barsar said that the village had been inspected and the administration would provide immediate assistance to the affected families. He added that the local Patwari had submitted a report on the damage caused.

The villagers said that they vacated their houses but got nothing from the administration as relief. They said that the continued rainfall was posing is a serious risk of more damage to their houses. All affected families are dependent on agriculture and grow crops on about 35 kanals for their livelihood.