5 persons died in Chamba in first week of Jan after snowfall

Five persons have died in Chamba district following snowfall in the first week of January, while the loss to propertyhas been assessed at Rs 11.53 crore, a senior official said today.
Giving the details of damage, Deputy Commissioner, Chamba, Sudesh Mokhta said the loss to the roads had been assessed to Rs 9.46 crore while Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd (HPSEBL) had also reporteddamage of Rs 1.10 crore.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary V C Pharka reviewed the progress on restoration of roads,water and electricity supply in the state following fresh snowfall in the region with senior officers.
During the review, he directed officers concerned that restoration works be carried out on a war footing for opening all the major highways and link roads and ensuring supply of electricity and water.

He said that all obstructions to the roads should be cleared on priority to ensure free flow of traffic.
The Chief Secretary directed all the departments concerned to deploy additional staff for proper maintenance of essential services.
Additional Chief Secretary Narendra Chauhan, Special Secretary, Revenue-Disaster Management, D D Sharma, Deputy Commissioner, Shimla Rohan Thakur and Engineers-in-Chief of IPH and PWD, Director (Operation), HPSEB attended the meeting.
The entire tribal belt of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Pangi and Bharmaur and upper areas of Shimla, Kullu and Sirmaur were cut off from rest of the state while mid and higher hills today received second heavy snowfall of the season and the lower hills experienced widespread rains.