One killed as heavy rain lashes Himachal

Heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday claimed one life, as hundreds of people were stranded across the state following landslides and snapped road links, officials said.

Three members of a family were buried when boulders hit their house in a village in Dharampur sub-division of Mandi district, Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kadam told IANS.

He said one body was found and efforts were on to trace the two other people.

Official sources said the chances of survival of the two missing people were bleak as they were buried under a huge mass of boulders.

Kadam said panchayats in Dharampur have been badly affected as many houses were damaged in the floods.

The bus stand at Dharampur, some 250 km from state capital Shimla, was also damaged by the floods in the Son rivulet, a tributary of the Beas river.

Mandi, Kangra and Hamirpur districts also experienced moderate to heavy rain, with Sundernagar town in Mandi district recording the highest rainfall at 145 mm. More rain is in store, the Met office said here.

Shimla received 58.5 mm while Dharamsala experienced 100 mm of rain.

There were reports of link road closure in the interiors of Shimla, Sirmaur, Mandi, Kangra and Kullu districts, hampering traffic movement.

A government spokesperson said the Satluj, Beas and Yamuna rivers and their tributaries were again in spate in Kinnaur, Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Bilaspur and Sirmaur districts.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has directed all deputy commissioners to be vigilant.

He directed district administration officials to take adequate safety measures and to compensate the affected people.