NEW DELHI, July 29: Three people were killed, more than 20 houses badly damaged and many vehicles swept away in heavy floods triggered by cloudbursts in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, officials said on Tuesday.
The Fury of Rain was so intense that gushing waters in Sukati nallahs (drains) flowing through the city swept huge mounds of debris, which entered several locations in about a 5 km area, and the worst affected were Jail Road, Saini Mohalla and the Zonal hospital area.
According to the Deputy Commissioner of Mandi, Apoova Devgn, three people have been killed, a few sustained injuries while about 15-20 people were have been rescued so far. The rescue operations were continuing in full swing.
The floods and landslides have blocked The Chandigarh-Manali National Highway has been closed at 4 Mile, 9 Mile and Dwada as the road stretches have been washed away.
Opposition Leader and former chief minister Jairam Thakur and DC Mandi have rushed to the spot. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said he was personally monitoring the situation and that the local administration has been directed to expedite the search, rescue and relief operations.
Landslides triggered by incessant rains also blocked the Shimla-Mataur National Highway at Old Kangra Ghat, and reports of uprooting of trees and electricity outages have also poured in from several parts of the state.
Since the onset of the monsoon in the State on June 20 till the evening of July 28, Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses to the tune of ₹1,523 crores. So far 90 people have died and 35 have gone missing in rain-related incidents, and 1,320 houses have been fully or partially damaged in the state.
A total of 200 roads, including 121 in the disaster-hit Mandi district, were closed for vehicular traffic on Monday night, and 62 power distribution transformers and 110 water supply schemes have also been affected across the state, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).
(Subham Singh)