Trains stopped, schools shut, 6 national highways blocked in Himachal Pradesh due to rain

Shimla: Train service was suspended, 1,311 roads, including six national highways, were closed, and schools were shut as heavy rainfall on Tuesday sent normal life in disarray in Himachal Pradesh.

The local Met Office has issued a red alert, warning of extremely heavy rain in isolated areas of the state for the day, and an orange warning of heavy to very heavy rain next day.

Of 1,305 roads, 289 roads are closed in Mandi, 241 in Shimla, 239 in Chamba, 169 in Kulku and 127 in Sirmaur district.

NH 3 (Mandi-Dharampur road), NH 305 (Aut-Sainj), NH 5 (Old Hindustan-Tibet road), NH 21 (Chandigarh-Manali road), NH 505 (Khab to Gramphoo road) and NH 707 (Hatkoti to Poanta) were blocked, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.

The situation is worse in interior areas where the link roads are blocked for several days and apple producers are unable to send their produce to markets.

On Monday, trains plying on the Shimla-Kalka track were cancelled following landslips. The service will remain suspended till September 5, officials said.

An under-construction house was damaged following a landslide in the Anni area of Kullu district. No casualty was reported as the house had been announced endangered during the 2023 monsoon disaster and was vacated.

On Monday, schools and colleges in nine districts were ordered shut under the Disaster Management act.

All educational institutions remained closed in Shimla, Kangra, Sirmaur, Una, Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Lahaul and Spiti and Solan districts besides Banjar, Kullu and Manali sub-division of Kullu district on Tuesday.

Efforts are afoot to send about 5,000 Manimahesh pilgrims struck in Chamba district back home, officials said.

Sixteen pilgrims have died since the yatra started on August 15, officials said.

Naina Devi has received 198.2 mm of rain since Monday evening, the highest in the state.

Rohru got 80 mm of rain, Jot 61.2 mm, Baggi 58.5 mm, Kukumseri 55.2 mm, Nadaun 53 mm, Olinda 50 mm, Nangal Dam 49.8 mm, Una 49 mm, Bhuntar 47.7 mm, Sarahan 47.5 mm, Banjar 42 mm, and Bilaspur 40.2 mm of it.

At least 327 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents, while 41 are missing since monsoon began, SEOC data showed.

As many as 3,263 power transformers and 858 water supply schemes were disrupted across the state on Monday, SEOC said.

Since the onset of monsoon in Himachal on June 20, the state has witnessed 95 flash floods, 45 cloudbursts and 115 major landslide incidents.

The state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 3,158 crore this monsoon so far, according to official data.