A day after monsoon wreaked havoc in Himachal Pradesh's remote Kinnaur district, the chief minister, Virbhadra Singh, has been airlifted from the region as the area remained inaccessible. So far, ten people have lost their lives.
"The chief minister and his staff, stuck in Kinnaur's Sangla valley since Sunday, have been airlifted," Kinnaur's Deputy Commissioner J M Pathania told Business Standard.
Over 1,500 tourists, including foreigners, are stranded in Kinnaur, which borders Tibet. "Efforts are being made to re-open blocked roads," Pathania said. There are reports that 75 houses have been damaged and 18 vehicles washed away due to the rains. The 1,500-Mw Nathpa Jhakri project and the 1,000-Mw Karchham Wantoo project have been shut due to heavy silt in Sutlej. Those feed the northern grid.
