No reprieve for Himachal, heavy rain causes more landslides, flash floods

Time of India

2 days ago

Kullu: Landslides and flash floods triggered by heavy rain caused havoc in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, blocking roads, disrupting water and power supply, and throwing life out of gear.
In Kinnaur, the district administration suspended the annual Kinner Kailash pilgrimage due to inclement weather. In all, 446 roads were blocked in the state, including the Chandigarh-Manali highway, which was closed on Monday evening due to rockfall at several spots. It stayed closed in the morning due to landslides near Pandoh and Aut in Mandi district.
In Thalout, a village near Pandoh in Mandi district, shops stayed closed due to the danger of landslides hitting their property.
Thalout is located on the Chandigarh-Manali highway.
Many areas and highway points near Mandi were submerged in the morning as the Suketi rivulet started overflowing. The rivulet and rainwater entered many houses and shops, as well as the highway and roads in Nagchala, Dadaur, Lunapani, Ratti, Gagal, and Behna. In Behna, many cars were submerged in the overflowing water.
In Mandi town, where the Suketi rivulet merges into the Beas, water reached the steps of the ancient Panchvaktra temple.
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Heavy rainfall also triggered landslides in Tarna, Mandi.
In Gohar sub-division of Mandi, which was struck by cloudbursts on July 1, a flash flood damaged at least three houses in Lot village. Water level in the rivulets of Thunag, which was hit worst by the recent disaster, also started rising Monday evening. The Jyuni rivulet in Pandoh was also flowing above the danger mark. Many residents vacated their houses built on its bank.
Mandi deputy commissioner Apoorv Devgan said due to heavy rain and landslides in the last 24 hours, extensive damage was caused to roads, drinking water and electricity supply, and other essential infrastructure.
Devgan said the Mandi zone of public works department (PWD) alone reported an estimated loss of about Rs 23 crore, and the water department incurred a loss of Rs 31 crore in the last 24 hours. "All possible efforts are being made to restore road connectivity and water and electricity supply," said Devgan.
Landslide threat in Banjar, Anni
In Kullu, potential landslide threats are giving residents of many villages in the Banjar and Anni sub-divisions sleepless nights. A primary school in Baloo village of Anni sub-division was damaged in a landslide on Tuesday. The residents of Malana, which is presently cut off from the rest of the district, also worked on building a wooden bridge on Malana rivulet for the second day on Tuesday.
The old bridge was washed away in a flash flood on July 1.
Flash flood in Kinnaur too
In Kinnaur, a flash flood in the Ribba rivulet blocked National Highway 5, and washed away agricultural land. NH 5 was also blocked at landslide-prone Nigulsari due to shooting stones.
Flood gates opened, alert in Punjab, HP
The flood gates of Pandoh dam and Koldam were opened on Tuesday, even as authorities had sounded an alert in advance for areas downstream.
Kangra administration has already issued an alert in the downstream areas of Pong dam in the district and neighbouring Punjab after water level reached above 1,365 feet in the dam.
Highway traffic diverted
As roadblocks created a huge traffic jam on the Manali-Chandigarh highway, the administration diverted Kullu and Mandi-bound traffic through the alternate routes of Mandi-Kamand-Bajaura-Kullu and Pandoh-Gohar-Chailchowk-Sundernagar. However, only light vehicles were allowed to take these routes, and heavy vehicles stayed on the highway, which was not reopened until the filing of this report.