Monsoon ravages: 43 dead in Himachal Pradesh in 2 weeks, 37 missing; Met issues 'red' alert for Sunday

Shimla: Forty-three people have been killed and at least 37 are missing in Himachal Pradesh due to cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides since the onset of monsoon last month, officials said on Friday.

The Met office has issued a "red" alert in 10 of the 12 districts in the hill state for Sunday.

The "red" alert is for very heavy to extremely heavy rains at isolated places in Kangra, Sirmaur and Mandi districts and heavy to very heavy showers at isolated places over Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Chamba, Solan, Shimla and Kullu districts.

Monsoon hit Himachal Pradesh on June 20 and has caused damage worth Rs 500 crore so far. Of the 43 victims, 14 were killed in cloudbursts and eight in flash floods. One person died due to a landslide, while seven people drowned.

Interacting with reporters here, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu pegged the losses at about Rs 700 crore as he said details are pouring in.

Sukhu announced that Rs 5,000 per month would be given as house rent to the families lodged in relief camps as their houses were damaged. He further said torrential rains and road accidents have claimed 69 lives so far, with 110 people injured and 37 missing. The chief minister said he would soon visit the affected areas again.

Sukhu said he has apprised Union Home Minister Amit Shah of the extensive damage and the latter has promised full support and said a central team would visit the state to assess the situation.

He said 14 cloudburst incidents have occurred in Mandi district alone, adding that there is a need to study why such frequent cloudbursts are happening. Sukhu said he has raised the issue with Shah.

Responding to a question on National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects in the state, the chief minister said large companies are often awarded contracts based on their machinery, but they lack understanding about the state's fragile hill terrain and as a result, conduct hill-cutting in accordance with their convenience, which causes damage. He advised the NHAI to consider awarding such contracts to local contractors who are familiar with the region.

The highest number of deaths, 17, was reported from Mandi district where 10 instances of cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides wreaked havoc on Tuesday.

A search is on in Mandi for 31 people who are missing, the officials said.

On Friday, the Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued 65 people who were trapped in Bharad, Deji, Payala and Rukchui villages after heavy rain.

The downpour, followed by landslides, damaged roads and caused rivers to swell, cutting off many villages.

More than 150 houses, 106 cattle sheds, 31 vehicles and 14 bridges, besides several roads, have suffered damage, while 164 cattle have perished, the officials said.

Five relief camps have been set up to house more than 402 rescued people.

Mandi Deputy Commissioner Apoorv Devgan said 92 stranded students of the Government Horticulture and Forestry College in Thunag were safely evacuated from disaster-affected areas and reunited with their parents.

However, the students said they were stranded for three days and managed to reach a safe place after walking 22 km. They accused the college management of negligence and irresponsible attitude.

Narrating their ordeal, two students -- Nivedita and Shashwat -- said there was no electricity and the mobile network was down and they were unable to contact anyone. They said there have been incidents of landlords and paying-guest accommodation owners abandoning students.

"When no help came after being stranded at the college for three days, we took a bold decision to reach Sunder Nagar on foot -- a dangerous and tiring journey of 22 km", one of the students said.

One student climbed the hill to find a mobile signal and informed her family about the situation. As soon as the parents got to know about their ordeal, they reached Kandha and took their children home in private vehicles.

Another student, Anamika, said they carried two pregnant teachers of the college on their backs and got them admitted to a hospital. She demanded that the college be shifted to a safe place.

Meanwhile, 280 roads, including 156 in Mandi, 49 in Sirmaur and 36 in Kullu, were rendered out of bounds for vehicular traffic, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.

The Mandi-Kullu national highway was blocked at Diod, near Pandoh, in Mandi district after rolling stones fell on the road. Panic broke out on Friday morning when a big stone suddenly fell from the hill and people ran for safety.

According to locals, stones and debris were falling intermittently from the hill since morning, but a sudden heavy landslide made the situation worse. A lot of inconvenience was caused to commuters, especially families with young children and older members, as long traffic snarls were seen on both sides of the road.

The administration and NHAI teams are at the spot and restoration work is going on but continuous falling of debris and stones is obstructing the work. "It is risky to restore the road until the landslide stops," Pandoh police outpost in-charge ASI Anil Katoch said, adding that vehicles are being stopped at Nau Mile and Aut.

A total of 332 transformers and 784 water-supply schemes have been disrupted in the state, the officials said.

The Met office has also issued an "orange" alert of heavy to very-heavy rains in three to 10 districts for Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, and warned of the possibility of landslides, flash floods, waterlogging, damage to vulnerable structures, horticultural and agricultural crop, traffic congestion and disruption of essential services. It has asked people to avoid going to vulnerable areas and near water bodies.

Intermittent rain continues to lash parts of Himachal Pradesh.

Aghar has received 71.4 mm of rain since Thursday evening, followed by Ghaghas (38.6 mm), Sarahan (36.4 mm), Nagrota Suriyan (31.4 mm), Kandaghat (31 mm), Karsog (27.4 mm), Murari Devi (24.4 mm), Kangra (22.7 mm) and Palampur (21.2 mm).