Over 50 individuals have been killed in Himachal Pradesh on Monday after heavy rains wrecked havoc, triggering triggering landslides that blocked key roads, broken properties and buried devotees in the rubble of a temple in Shimla. Meanwhile, in Uttarakhand the Chardham yatra has been suspended for 2 days after three individuals have been killed and 10 others went lacking following landslides which disrupted nationwide highways to the pilgrim websites.
Himachal Pradesh
Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated groups of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are engaged in reduction and rescue operations in the hill state. All colleges and schools in the state have been closed on Monday.
The reduction and rescue efforts concerned personnel from the Army, SDRF, NDRF, ITBP, state police, and different businesses, as said in an official announcement.
The climate division has issued a yellow warning for heavy rains on Tuesday and predicted a moist spell in the state until August 18. The climate workplace had predicted extraordinarily heavy rains in 9 out of 12 districts of the state, barring Kullu, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti on Monday.
Nineteen individuals died in rain-related incidents in Mandi district, Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary advised PTI.
Landslides Strike Shimla
Authorities have retrieved fourteen our bodies from the areas of two landslides in the state capital and there are considerations that extra people could be trapped beneath the rubble of the Shiva temple in the Summer Hill area of Shimla. The temple was full of worshippers who had gathered to supply prayers throughout a big day in the holy month of Sawan.
VIDEO | Rescue operation underway after a temple collapsed as a result of huge landslide in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh earlier immediately. CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, together with officers, is current on the spot. Nine our bodies have been pulled out of the particles, the CM stated.
“Teams are… pic.twitter.com/3yp64LdmI0
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 14, 2023
A second landslide in Shimla occurred of which five bodies were pulled from the debris in the Fagli region, along with the successful rescue of 17 individuals, according to Shimla SP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi.
The ongoing heavy rainfall is posing challenges to the ongoing rescue efforts in Shimla, where numerous areas have been left without electricity since Sunday night due to power line damage caused by landslides and uprooted trees.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had earlier stated that a total of nine bodies have been recovered from the wreckage of a Shiva temple located in the Summer Hill region. Additionally, another site in the Fagli area witnessed the burial of several houses under mud and slush.
Other Districts
Nineteen people died in rain-related incidents in Mandi district, Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary told PTI.
In Solan, another badly affected district, 11 people including seven members of a family have been killed.
The weather office predicted extremely heavy rains in nine out of 12 districts of the state, barring Kullu, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti, on Monday and issued a yellow warning for Tuesday.
All schools and colleges in the state were closed on Monday. According to the state emergency operation centre, 621 roads were closed in the state because of the calamity.
The chief minister visited the site of the temple collapse in Shimla and said all efforts are being made to rescue people buried underneath the debris.
“Distressing news has emerged from Shimla, where the Shiva Mandir collapsed as a result of the heavy rainfall. As of now, nine bodies have been retrieved. The local administration is diligently working to clear the debris in order to rescue individuals who may still be trapped. Om Shanti,” he posted on X (previously Twitter).
Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary stated a minimum of nineteen individuals have died as a result of rain-related incidents in Mandi district. A landslide resulted in the deaths of seven relations, together with a two-year-old, in the Seghli panchayat. Deputy Commissioner Chaudhary said that three individuals have been rescued from the incident.
In the severely affected Solan district, eleven individuals, together with seven relations, died.
Hamirpur district recorded 4 casualties as a result of insessant rains. Two individuals stay lacking, as one particular person was swept away by floodwaters and two have been efficiently rescued on Sunday evening. An aged girl was buried alive whereas her son was rescued after their home collapsed from the rain.
In Rangas space of Hamirpur, a lady was killed in a landslide, and an 80-year-old man died in a home collapse incident in Bhagatu panchayat.
Solan district’s Jadon village skilled a cloudburst, ensuing in the deaths of seven relations. A police official reported that two homes have been washed away, six individuals have been rescued, and 7 others died. The victims have been recognized as Harnam (38), Kamal Kishore (35), Hemlata (34), Rahul (14), Neha (12), Golu (8), and Raksha (12).
In Balera panchayat of Solan, two youngsters died when their makeshift home collapsed in a landslide. Another girl misplaced her life in a landslide in Banal village of Ramsheher tehsil, with a further casualty reported in the Baddi space.
Six our bodies have been recovered in Sambhal close to Pandoh, but their identities are pending affirmation. Additionally, two deaths have been reported from the Dharampur space. Reports indicated that one boy misplaced his life in Sirmaur district.
The UNESCO world heritage Shimla-Kalka railway bridge suffered extreme injury close to Summer Hill in Shimla, with the 50-meter bridge being swept away and the tracks left suspended in the air, officers reported.
Trains on the Shimla-Kalka railway observe had been suspended since July 10 as a result of heavy rains inflicting landslides and fallen bushes. A particular practice resumed operations on the Shimla-Solan stretch on July 20 after the route was deemed protected by railway authorities.
However, the Solan to Kalka stretch stays closed as repairs proceed on the part between Dharampur and Parwanoo, which was closely broken lately.
Uttarakhand
Reviewing the state’s scenario, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami carried out a gathering with senior officers, resulting in the suspension of the Chardham yatra for a length of two days till August 15. Landslides had breached the nationwide highways to Badrinath, Kedarnath and Gangotri shrines.
In response to the Meteorological Department’s issuance of a pink alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in six districts of Uttarakhand – Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri, Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital, and Champawat – Chief Minister Dhami has directed officers to keep up fixed vigilance. Additionally, an orange alert has been issued for heavy to very heavy rain in Haridwar.
Pauri Landslide
Heavy rainfall triggered landslides in a number of areas of the state. In the Laxmanjhula space of Pauri district, a landslide resulted in 4 to 5 people going lacking. The landslide, brought on by heavy rains, led to mess falling onto a resort, doubtlessly trapping the people beneath it, said Shweta Choubey, Senior Superintendent of Police, Pauri.
Efforts for rescue and reduction are underway, with response groups current on the scene, commencing a search operation, Choubey confirmed.
Chief Minister Dhami expressed his condolences in a Facebook put up, lamenting the numerous lack of life because of the heavy downpour in Pauri.
Monsoon Fury
According to Rudraprayag district catastrophe administration officer Nandan Singh Rajwar, a landslide struck a camp at Lincholi on the Kedarnath trek route, inflicting injury to 4 retailers. One particular person from Nepal died in the incident, and a dealer is presently lacking. The physique of 26-year-old Kalu Bahadur has been recovered.
Additionally, two our bodies have been retrieved from rain-fed streams close to Shiv Mandir and Miranagar areas in Rishikesh. One of the deceased has been recognized as 35-year-old Dinesh Panwar, a resident of Amit Gram. The identification of the opposite physique is presently underway, said DSP Sandeep Negi.
Around 114 staff discovered themselves trapped inside the ‘Edit-II’ tunnel of the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail line challenge, as surging waters from a flooded stream in Shivpuri space inundated the passage. The tunnel grew to become submerged with water rising as much as 4 meters, stated Ritesh Shah, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Muni-Ki-Reti police station.
Rivers Overflow
The majority of rivers are experiencing overflow, notably the Ganga surpassing the hazard threshold in Tehri, Haridwar, and Rishikesh.
In Haridwar, the scenario is regarding, with the Ganga reaching a peak of 295.60 meters, exceeding the hazard mark by 1.60 meters. Floodwaters have inundated over two dozen villages in Haridwar district, inflicting the destruction of sugarcane crops over an space of greater than 100 bighas, as reported by officers.
The Bairagi camp in Haridwar has additionally been engulfed by the waters of the Ganga.
The Alaknanda, Mandakini, and Ganga rivers are registering water ranges above the hazard mark at Rudraprayag, Shrinagar and Devprayag, in response to updates from the catastrophe management room.
(With inputs from PTI)
