Rains in many parts of HP; landslides close over 280 roads

Heavy rains lashed several parts of Himachal Pradesh triggering landslides which closed over 280 roads across the state.
Kangra, Hamirpur, Shimla, Una and Mandi districts suffered maximum damage. Four houses collapsed in a landslide in Sarkaghat area of Mandi district but there was no loss of life, an official spokesperson said.
As many 97 roads were closed on Mandi circle, 69 in Kangra, 60 in Hamirpur and 50 in Shimla. Intermittent rains and landslides were hampering the work to clear the roads, the chief engineer of the Public Works Department said.
He said 277 JCB, 25 bulldozers and 78 tippers have been pressed into service to clear the roads and the department has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 291 crore due to damage to roads and government property.

Dera Gopipur was the wettest place in the state with 174 mm of rains while Bhoranj, Dharamsala and Gaggal received 160 mm, 144 mm and 107 mm of precipitation respectively.
Baldwara received 85 mm of rains, followed by Sujanpurtira 74 mm, Nagrotasurian 63 mm, Aghar 60 mm, Hamirpur 54 mm, Pachhad and Ghumarwin 44 mm each, Bharwain 42 mm, Mehre 38 mm, Kheri 37 mm, Una and Ghamroor 33 mm each, Shimla 28 mm, Una, Solan and Baijnath 12 mm each and Karsog 10 mm.

There was no significant change in minimum temperatures and Saluni was the coldest with a low of 12.5 degrees Celsius followed by Kalpa and Manali 14 degrees Celsius each, Keylong 16.8 degrees Celsius, Dharamshala 17.4 degrees Celsius and Shimla 18.1 degrees Celsius.

Maximum temperatures decreased by 4 to 5 degrees and Sundernagar, recording a high of 29.9 degrees Celsius, was the hottest during the day.
The local MeT office has warned of heavy rains in mid and lower hills over next up to August 11.