Heavy rains cause building collapses, landslides, road blockades in Himachal

Shimla: Heavy rains led to building collapses, landslides and road blockades in Himachal Pradesh on Monday.

According to the state emergency operation centre, 259 roads including 129 in Mandi and 92 in Sirmaur district were closed in the state following cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains and 614 transformers and 130 water supply schemes have been disrupted.

Since the onset of monsoon on June 20 to date, rain-related incidents have claimed 23 lives in the state, according to the state emergency operation centre.

Himachal received an average of 135 mm of rain in June against the normal of 101 mm, an excess of 34 per cent. It is the 21st highest rainfall in the month of June in the state since 1901. The highest rainfall of 252.7 mm was recorded in the year 1971.

Chairing a high-level meeting to review monsoon preparedness, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi urged tourists and residents to follow weather advisories and avoid venturing near rivers and streams and directed sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) across the state to remain vigilant.

A five-storey building collapsed like cards in five seconds in Bhatta Kuffar in the suburbs of Shimla on Monday morning, while several cows from a shed washed away in the cloudburst in Rampur.

The building at Mathu Colony on the road to Chamiyana Super Specialty Hospital caved in, albeit without casualties as the district administration, sensing grave risk, had already evacuated the inmates. However, two adjoining buildings were also endangered.

"We vacated the building on Sunday night as the land was sliding after Saturday's rain. The building collapsed around 8.15 am on Monday morning," said its owner Ranjana Verma, adding that a four-lane road construction had endangered the structure but no measures were taken to ensure its safety.

According to Chamiyana gram panchayat Up-Pradhan Yashpal Verma, cracks had developed in the building last year but officials of the company constructing the Kaithlighat-Dhalli four-lane road had assured that the building was safe.

Verma said the panchayat had written to the company to stop work as it was rendering buildings unsafe. However, they continued construction activities, leading to the collapse of the building, he alleged.

"Negligence by the construction company led to the collapse of the building," he said.

Water entered the Government Senior Secondary School located in Kunhmunjhwad area of Bilapsur district and over 130 students in the school were sent home as classrooms were flooded. Local people said the school was already in a dilapidated condition and the rain made the situation worse.

"When I reached the school, I saw that the rooms were filled with water up to my knees and there was only mud on the ground. There was no place for the children to sit, so they had to be sent home," said vice principal of the school Shyam Lal.

Damage has also been caused to a government primary school in Junga area of Shimla district.

Two cowsheds, along with three cows and two calves, a kitchen and a room of a residence, were washed away in the cloudburst at Sikaseri village, Sarpara gram panchayat in Rampur. The residence belonged to Rajinder Kumar, Vinod Kumar and Gopal, all sons of Palas Ram. However, there was no loss to human life.

In July last year, a cloudburst claimed 21 lives in Samej under Sarpara panchayat.

After incessant rains triggered landslides, shooting stones rolled down at five places on the four-lane Shimla-Chandigarh national highway. Subsequently, traffic was diverted to a single lane, causing jams.

The situation prevailed along the highway at Chakki Mor near Koti in Solan district as well. Shooting stones disrupted traffic and commuters were forced to drive past a single lane at snail's pace.

The Subathu-Waknaghat road was also closed after a landslide at Delgi in Solan district. Authorities said efforts are on to clear the road.

Deputy Commissioner Solan Manmohan Sharma inspected Chakki Mor and directed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to deploy necessary equipment and machinery round the clock to avoid traffic blockage at this place during rains and regularly monitor the stretch to ensure the safety of commuters.

He said traffic police have been deployed here to ensure that residents and tourists do not face any problems.

Commuters faced inconvenience due to traffic issues in Mandi district and continuous sliding at Kainchimod near Pandoh on the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway. The highway has been partially closed due to debris falling on the road and vehicles are being diverted from the other side. Local administration and NHAI teams are doing relief and debris removal work on the spot, officials said.

The weather department on Monday evening cautioned of moderate flash-flood risk in parts of Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur districts in the next 24 hours.

It has issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rains in parts of Himachal Pradesh for Wednesday and predicted a wet spell in the hill state till July 6.

Thunderstorms lashed Palampur, Baijnath, Sundernagar, Murari Devi, Kangra, Shimla and its adjoining area of Jubbarhatti.

Moderate to heavy rains lashed several parts of the state. Mandi was the wettest, recording 144.4 mm rainfall since Sunday evening. This was followed by Pandoh 123 mm, Murari Devi 113.2 mm, Palampur 83 mm, Ghaghas 65.4 mm, Bharari 65.2 mm, Kasauli 64 mm, Nadaun 63 mm, Slapper 62.8 mm, Sundernagar 60.6 mm, Dharampur 56.6 mm and Sujanpur Tira 53 mm.