Manju Warrier, her crew did not take permission to shoot in flood-hit area, says HP Minister RL Markanda

Malayalam superstar Manju Warrier and her 35-member film crew did not seek the permission of the authorities to shoot a film in the flood-hit remote village of the state, Himachal Pradesh Minister RL Markanda said on Wednesday.

Manju and her crew, who were shooting a Malayalam film "Kayyatam", were among 127 people stranded in Lahaul-Spiti's Chhatru area due to incessant rains and flood.

"The crew did not take the permission before commencing the shoot, but still we entertained them. I request the production houses to take our permission the next time, as it is a tribal area," Markanda told ANI.

If this persists, we will stop granting permission to shoot in the district, the minister added.

He further alleged that the actress refused to be shifted to a safer place, despite multiple efforts by the disaster management teams. Following this, the authorities took their statement in writing contending they are staying back "at their own risk".

The minister said that the crew had, however, promised to leave the area earlier today. "I cannot reach them to ascertain if they have left or not," he added.

Markanda further said that the other people stuck in Chhatru have been shifted to a safe place.

On Tuesday, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had said that a total of 1, 600 people have been evacuated to safer locations in different parts of the state till now.

Thakur said that over 63 people were killed in flood-related accidents and the state suffered a loss of over Rs 627 crore.