Page 24 - Heavy Rains

Portion of Rishikesh-Badrinath NH-58 damaged in Chamoli, traffic stopped

According to the district administration, a 250-metre stretch of the highway in Purusadi was damaged because of which the local administration had to suspend the movement of traffic

Himachal rains: Thakur asks officials to build houses for those affected

Union minister Anurag Thakur has asked authorities in the district to construct houses for those who have lost their homes due to heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh. Chairing a review meeting on the damage caused by heavy rains in the district on Sunday, the Hamirpur MP said changes will be made in the Relief Manual of the Central and State Governments to provide more relief to the people hit by the calamity. Besides this, a way should be found to make additional provisions in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana to provide relief to these people, he added. He directed the administration to provide accommodation facilities to the people living in relief camps and also made an appeal to people having spare accommodation to rent them to the affected people. If needed, the minister said, he would help the people pay rent from his own funds. Bilaspur is part of the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency. The Information and Broadcasting minister asserted that the central government was providing

17 bodies recovered from debris of Shiv Mandir in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla

Chief Secretary of the government of Himachal Pradesh Prabodh Saxena, while speaking to ANI said that two bodies of a family are still to be recovered

10 including 5 forest officials stuck in HP's Mandi, rescue ops underway

As per the Deputy Commissioner of Mandi Arindam Chaudhary, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local administration teams are present on the spot for rescue operations

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Shimla's ex-deputy mayor sits on strike, urges rethink on development model

Former deputy mayor of Shimla Municipal Corporation Tikendar Panwar on Sunday sat on a 24-hour hunger strike on Ridge Ground here, and urged introspection on Himachal Pradesh' development model in view of the recent rain-related devastation in the state. Panwar demanded an inquiry commission on the matter to be headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court to assess the flood related damages and design a new policy framework to counter it. He said the National Highway Authority of India and companies responsible for the construction of four-lane highways in the state should be prosecuted. The death toll in rain-related incidents in the state has climbed to 78. Of the 78 deaths since August 13, 24 were from the three landslides in Shimla alone -- 17 at the Shiva temple in Summer Hill, five in Fagli, and two in Krishna Nagar. The ex-deputy mayor said that the current disaster should be declared a national calamity. He also called for immediate mapping of the state's vulnerabilities

Met warns of heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh from August 22-24

The Met office here has issued an 'orange alert' for heavy to very heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh from August 22-24 and 'yellow alert' for heavy rain on August 21, even as the monsoon remained subdued in the state. Isolated parts of the state witnessed light rain on Sunday, it said. The Met also warned of moderate risk of flash floods in catchment areas of Chamba and Mandi districts and predicted a wet spell till August 26. Heavy rain can result in landslides, flash floods and increased water levels in rivers and drains, besides causing damage to standing crops, fruit plants and young seedlings, the weather office said.

Centre approves release of Rs 200 cr to rain-battered Himachal Pradesh

The Centre on Sunday approved the release of Rs 200 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund as advance assistance to Himachal Pradesh to help the rain-battered state undertake relief measures for affected people. A spokesperson of the Union Home Ministry said the Centre had earlier approved the advance release of Rs 360.80 crore from the central share of the State Disaster Response Fund in two instalments on July 10 and 17. The Central government also released Rs 189.27 crore of the state's past dues from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) on August 7, the spokesperson said. The home ministry has approved the release of Rs 200 crore, as an advance from the National Disaster Response Fund to the government of Himachal Pradesh to help them undertake relief measures for affected people during the ongoing monsoon season, a spokesperson said. The central government is monitoring the situation in Himachal Pradesh round the clock and providing necessary logistics and financ

Himachal suffered huge losses, will make all efforts to rehabilitate: Nadda

The Centre is concerned over the grave situation in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh and all efforts would be made to rehabilitate displaced persons, BJP president J P Nadda said on Sunday. Nadda along with Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur and state BJP president Rajiv Bindal is on a tour of the state to take stock of the situation. I am pained to see the devastation and loss of human lives and assure all help for rehabilitation of displaced persons, the BJP president, who started his visit of flood and rain-hit areas of the state from Paonta Sahib in Sirmaur, said after meeting a famiiy which lost five members in flash floods on August 10. Himachal has suffered huge losses and the union government is seriously concerned about the situation. Efforts are afoot by the administration to provide relief and take up restoration and rehabilitation works. Central help would continue to pour in and all the displaced persons would b

U'khand CM to meet ministers in Delhi, seeks assistance for disaster relief

100 per cent of the funds received from the central government under the centrally funded schemes run in the state should be spent on development works, said Chief Minister Dhami

BJP president Nadda to visit Himachal today, take stock of flood situation

According to the statement, Nadda on his visit to the flood-hit state will meet the affected family members of those who lost their lives due to the calamity

Himachal Pradesh to declare heavy rains as state calamity: CM Sukhu

The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to declare the massive damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Friday. He said a notification in this regard would be issued Friday. The state is also waiting a response from the Centre to declare the disaster in Himachal Pradesh as a national calamity. Heavy rains have lashed the hill state since Sunday, triggering landslides in several districts, including Shimla. Talking to PTI, the chief minister said rescue operations are going on in full swing and the state government is making efforts to help the affected families especially those whose houses have been damaged in the flash floods and landslides with its own resources. "Central teams have inspected the affected areas for loss assessment and we need timely help from the Centre," Sukhu said, adding the state has suffered an estimated loss of Rs 10,000 crore. With the recovery of one more body from the rubble of a Shiv temple i

Uttarakhand rains: Heavy rainfall disrupts normal life, water enters houses

"Efforts are being made by the team to make way for drainage of excessive rainwater with the help of JCB. SDRF is constantly trying to help the affected people," added the officials

Rain in Germany causes flooding, leads to flight cancellations in Frankfurt

Heavy rain in parts of Germany caused flooding and led to dozens of flight cancellations at Frankfurt Airport, the country's busiest and a major European hub, authorities said Thursday. The airport said large quantities of water accumulated on the tarmac Wednesday evening and ground handling was suspended for more than two hours, German news agency dpa reported. The airport website showed about 70 flights were cancelled by 11 pm, when flying is ordinarily halted for the night, while 23 flights headed for Frankfurt were diverted to other airports. Downpours in parts of southwestern and central Germany led to flooded basements and streets. In Gelsenkirchen, in the western Ruhr district, the fire service said people were rescued from their cars where several highway underpasses were under water.

Subsidence, landslides hit Jakhan village near Dehradun, rescue op underway

Jakhan village is home to about 15 families, comprising 50 people

Heavy rains trigger landslides in Manipur, at least 500 trucks stranded

Heavy rains triggered massive landslides in Manipur's Noney district, blocking the Imphal-Silchar highway due to which at least 500 goods vehicles are stranded, officials said on Thursday. The landslides happened on the National Highway 37 between Irang and Awangkhul part 2, Khongsang and Awangkhul, and Rangkhui village on Wednesday, they said. Work is underway to clear the road, and re-start movement of traffic, officials said. Incessant rains over the last few days triggered the landslides, they said. At least 500 goods vehicles are stranded in different parts of the highway due to the landslides, they added. In June last year, a massive landslide hit a railway construction site in the district, killing at least 61 people. The landslide happened at Tupul railway yard construction site of the Jiribam-Imphal railway line on June 30. The supply of essential items is feared to be affected due to the landslides in the violence-hit state, where road blockades, which went on for days,

Nearly 300 pilgrims rescued from trek route to Madmaheshwar in Uttarakhand

Rescuers have safely evacuated 293 pilgrims stranded since Monday on the trek route to Madmaheshwar temple following a bridge collapse in rain-hit Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district. The shrine, which is part of the Panch Kedar group of temples in Uttarakhand, is located at an altitude of 11,473 feet. The rescue operation concluded with the evacuation of 293 pilgrims, Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said on Wednesday. State Disaster Response Force personnel were pressed into service and 240 pilgrims airlifted by a helicopter on Wednesday. Another 53 pilgrims were evacuated on Tuesday through the rope-river crossing method, the state disaster control room here said on Wednesday. Around 290 pilgrims were stranded on the route on Monday when a bridge at Bantoli in Gaundar village collapsed following a heavy downpour. Incessant rain has been lashing various parts of the hill state, causing landslides that demolished buildings and flooding rivers and

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Himachal Pradesh: At least 60 killed amid rain fury; rescue ops underway

Both Himachal Pradesh and neighbouring Uttarakhand, which too has witnessed dozens of deaths this monsoon season, are set to receive more rain, according to the weather forecast

Schools, colleges in Himachal to remain shut today, death toll rises to 57

The death toll in the rain fury in Himachal Pradesh rose to 57 on Wednesday with the body of a woman being pulled out of the debris of a collapsed Shiv temple near Summer Hill here, officials said. Heavy rains have battered Himachal Pradesh since Sunday, triggering landslides in Shimla's Summer Hill, Krishna Nagar and Fagli. "Rescue operations are going on in Summer Hill and Krishna Nagar areas and one body has been recovered from Summer Hill," Deputy Commissioner Aditya Negi told PTI. He said so far 13 bodies have been recovered from Summer Hill, five bodies from Fagli and two from Krishna Nagar. Ten bodies are still feared buried in the debris of the Shiv temple that collapsed on Monday. About 15 houses in Krishna Nagar have been vacated and the families have been shifted to safe places. Several others have vacated their homes themselves fearing slides due to incessant rains. Two persons were killed and at least eight houses were razed to the ground and a slaughter house was bur