Page 28 - Himachal Pradesh

Over 50 people rescued, bridge connecting Baddi-Pinjaur washed away in HP

Over 50 people were stranded in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district following a cloudburst and have been rescued by the NDRF, officials said on Friday. The cloudburst took place in Shehnu Gouni village on Thursday and also triggered a landslide that blocked roads at many places. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) travelled 15 km on foot to rescue the stranded people, including 15 children, and shift them to safe places, the officials said. In another rain-related incident, the Maranwala bridge in Baddi connecting industrial Baddi area and Pinjaur collapsed on Friday following heavy flow of water in Balad river due to recent rains. No loss of life was reported in the incident, officials said. "The Maranwala Bridge has been washed away and traffic has been diverted through Kalka-Kalujhanda-Barotiwala road," Superintendent of Police, Baddi, Mohit Chawala told PTI. Heavy rains in the state have led to closure of 709 roads. So far 242 people have died in rain-related

Himachal rains: Buildings collapse in Kullu, landslides block highway

A row of buildings in Kullu district collapsed Thursday and hundreds of travellers were stranded in relief camps after landslides blocked the road to Mandi in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh. On Wednesday night, there were over 900 people at camps near Pandoh on Kullu-Mandi road. Three more bodies were recovered on Thursday from the rubble of the landslide that buried a Shiv Temple in Shimla's Summer Hill area on August 14. The seven or eight buildings which collapsed in Kullu's Anni town had been vacated earlier and there were no casualties, officials said. Authorities have ordered the closure of all schools in Shimla on Friday. About 120 people have died in landslides and other rain-related incidents in the state this month, about 80 of them since August 14. Altogether, 242 people have died in Himachal Pradesh since the monsoon began on June 24. Officials said stranded people on the Kallu-Mandi highway were shifted to relief camps set up in hotels, rest houses and residential ho

Torrential rainfall in Himachal wreaks havoc, 8 buildings collapse in Kullu

At least eight buildings that had developed cracks and were declared unsafe following recent rains collapsed in Anni area of Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district on Thursday, throwing up large clouds of dust and debris. There were no casualties. The buildings housing shops, banks and other commercial establishments had developed cracks four-five days ago, Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Anni, Naresh Verma, who was at the spot, said. The buildings were declared unsafe and vacated recently, he said. The assessment of damage is being done and some other unsafe buildings along the National Highway305 in Anni have also been vacated as a precautionary measure, the official added. As many as 120 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state this month while a total of 238 people have died and 40 are still missing since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 24. Himachal saw three major spells of heavy rains this Monsoon. The first on July 9 and 10 led to large-scale ..

Massive landslide in Himachal Pradesh, buildings collapse in Kullu

IMD issues red alert, warning for heavy rainfall over the next two days in the state

Himachal: Kullu-Mandi Highway damaged after heavy rain, vehicles stranded

"There is a traffic jam stretching to nearly 5-10 kilometres. We have nothing to eat or drink. People are starving here. The snarl should be cleared soon," a commuter told ANI

CM Sukhu-led Himachal govt allocates Rs 165.22 crore for restoration works

He said that the State Government was working round the clock to ensure safety of life and properties

IMD issues red alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in HP for next 2 days

During the past 24 hours, Shimla recorded 190 mm of rain, and during one hour, it recorded 60 mm of rain in the morning, an official said

Himachal govt orders immediate closure of stone crushers near Beas river

The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to immediately stop the operations of all stone crushers on both perennial and non-perennial rivulets of the Beas river basin and its tributaries, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Wednesday. The decision has been taken after considering the alarming transformation of the ecosystem during the current monsoon which saw excessive heavy rainfall and landslides, wreaking havoc downstream in the Beas river basin and its tributaries in Kullu, Mandi Kangra and Hamirpur districts besides Chakki rivulet in district Kangra, an official statement issued here said. It said the decision will ensure the safety of human settlements and infrastructure and to preserve the fragile ecology and environment of the state. However, the lease of legal mining has not been cancelled. Sukhu said directions had been given to the Department of Environment, Science and Technology and Climate Change to convene a high-level consultation meet inviting experts

12 killed in heavy rains in Himachal, MeT issues alert for 6 districts

Heavy overnight rains triggered landslides in Himachal Pradesh, claiming four lives and blocking over 200 more roads besides damaging some houses, officials said on Wednesday. The meteorological office on Wednesday issued a red alert predicting "heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated spells of extremely heavy" rains in four of the state's 12 districts for the next 24 hours. A total of 530 roads in the state are now shut following three major spells of heavy rains this Monsoon that have left a trail of death and destruction. Shimla town was the most hit, with landslides and uprooted trees blocking the main cart road, the lifeline of the town as well as the Shimla-Mehli bypass at several points. Many houses have also developed cracks and people have been evacuated as a precautionary measure. A migrant identified as Jhalo and his wife Rajkumari were found dead in their makeshift house in Baldeyan area of Shimla district, Superintendent of Police, Shimla, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi told

Roads blocked, educational institutions shut amid heavy rains in Himachal

Heavy overnight rains triggered landslides in Himachal Pradesh, blocking over 200 more roads, including the Shimla-Chandigarh highway, and damaging some houses in Solan district, officials said on Wednesday. No loss of life has been reported so far. With 200 more roads blocked, a total of 530 roads in the state are now shut. The Shimla-Kalka National Highway 5 connecting Shimla and Chandigarh was again blocked near Chaki Mor besides NH 21 (Mandi-Kullu road) and NH 154 (Mandi-Pathankot) road, according to the data of the State Emergency Operation Centre. Some houses have been damaged in Shakal village in the outskirts of Solan city as gushing waters entered houses and reports of damage to few houses and vehicles in Sabathu area following the landslide have poured in, Deputy Commissioner, Solan, Manmohan Sharma told PTI. As a safety measure, three houses were vacated in Panthaghati and Sanjauli areas of Shimla city and landslides and uprooting of trees have been reported in some part

'Red' rain alert in HP, schools to be closed in Shimla, Mandi for 2 days

Rains lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday and the meteorological office here issued a red alert predicting "heavy to very heavy" rainfall with isolated spells of "extremely heavy" rains in eight of its 12 districts during the night. In view of the warning, Deputy Commissioners Aditya Negi of Shimla and Arindam Chaudhary of Mandi ordered the closure of all schools and colleges in their jurisdictions on Wednesday and Thursday. Bilaspur Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussian Sadiq said all educational institutions will remain closed on Wednesday. The red alert was issued in the evening for parts of Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur and Una districts as rains on Tuesday triggered some landslides in Mandi and hamirpur districts and uprooted trees in other areas. No casualties were reported in this fresh bout of rains, so far. Earlier this month, about 80 people died in rain-related incidents, including major landslides in Shimla. The Met also issued an orange al

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

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