Himachal Pradesh: Clouds burst in Chamba-Mandi; heavy damage, five bridges washed away, woman swept away in ravine in Hamirpur

Amidst the red alert of heavy to very heavy rains, 38 bighas of land and five bridges were washed away due to cloudburst in Mandi and Chamba districts on Sunday. A gharaat was washed away in the flow of water in Chamba. A woman was washed away in a ravine in Hamirpur. Workers were lifting stones on the banks of Shukkar ravine in Guru Ka Ban in sub-division Barsar. Suddenly the water level in the ravine increased and Kiran (30), a resident of Bihar, who was working there, was washed away. No trace of the woman could be found till late evening. Two flights had to be cancelled at Kangra airport due to rain in the morning. Three flights in the afternoon took place as per schedule. Air flights to Shimla-New Delhi operated regularly.

Three foot bridges and one motorable bridge were washed away due to cloudburst in village Kotarang of Gram Panchayat Shilhbadhani of Mandi district late on Saturday night. 50 bighas of land of the people of Kotarang along the drain has also been washed away. A cloud burst in Kathwad Nallah at 9 am on Sunday in Churah subdivision of Chamba. The Public Works Department bridge was washed away due to the strong flow of water here. Due to this, the connection of three panchayats has been cut off from Churah subdivision. In Kangra district, the road was closed due to the collapse of one end of the bridge built at Sidhpurghar on the Lab-Ludhiar-Bharmad road of Jawali. At the same time, the Mataur-Shimla National Highway remained closed for one and a half hours due to a tree falling in Samela near Kangra. On the same national highway, a one-way had to be made due to landslide from the hill near Bathu bridge.

Due to heavy rains on Saturday night and Sunday morning in Una district, the water of the drain flowing in the industrial area of ​​Gagret came on the road. Due to this, the wall of an industry building broke. The industry was flooded up to four feet. The raw material and goods kept inside the industry were washed away and reached the Swan river. A textile industry in Nangal Salangari also got flooded. 45 workers were working inside, who were rescued by the fire department team. Waterlogging also occurred on the Chandigarh-Dharamshala NH near Jhaleda. Due to waterlogging on the Chandigarh-Dharamshala NH, traffic was disrupted for some time. The district has received 67.2 mm of rain, which is 438 percent more than the normal. On Sunday, it rained in many areas including Shimla, Kullu, Kangra. Fog prevailed in Dharamshala and surrounding areas after noon. Meanwhile, light rain also started. Due to fog, drivers had to drive with lights on.