Normal life disrupted; Bharmour administration making continuous efforts to restore services
112 power transformers shut down; residents likely to face difficulties
Vehicular movement on Bharmour roads remains almost nil on Saturday
No trace yet of two missing boys from Malkauta village; rescue teams continue search operation
Mahinder Patyal
Bharmour
Fresh snowfall occurred again on Friday night in the tribal Bharmour subdivision, taking the total fresh snow accumulation to nearly two feet. As a result, normal life in the region has been completely disrupted.
Assistant Engineer of the Electricity Department, Bharmour, Krishan Chand, informed that out of a total of 176 transformers in the subdivision, 112 transformers are currently non-functional, while power supply has been restored through 64 transformers.
Meanwhile, Assistant Engineer of the Jal Shakti Department, Bharmour Division, Vivek Chandel, stated that out of 149 drinking water schemes under the division, supply has been disrupted in only 32 schemes, while the remaining 117 schemes are functioning smoothly.
Junior Engineer of the National Highway Authority, Chamba, Gajan Rana, said that National Highway 154A, which was blocked at several locations on Friday night, has been restored for heavy vehicles from Chamba to Khadamukh. Snow clearance work from Khadamukh to Bharmour has also been completed, and the road will be fully restored after spreading sand on Sunday.
Assistant Engineer of the Public Works Department, Bharmour, Sanjay Sharma, informed that departmental machinery is continuously engaged in road restoration. The Bharmour–Badgram road has been cleared up to 6 km, while the Bharmour–Kugti road has been restored up to 5 km. Restoration work on the Khani–Garima road will be completed soon, and the Thala–Chaubia road has already been restored.
Meanwhile, two boys from Malkauta village under Panchayat Sanchui have been missing since Thursday. The missing youths have been identified as Kshitij Rana (19), son of late Sanjay Rana, and Piyush (12), son of Vikram, a resident of Ghared who was staying with relatives in Malkauta.
Kshitij, who was fond of videography and vlogging, reportedly went towards Kukdu Kanda Dhar before the snowfall. Due to sudden snowfall on Thursday night, the boys got stranded. Kshitij managed to inform his family, following which a rescue request was made to the Bharmour administration.
A search operation involving mountaineering teams, police personnel, and local residents was launched on Friday, but no success was achieved till evening. Sub-Divisional Magistrate Bharmour, Vikas Sharma, said that the search operation has been ongoing since Friday and drone assistance is also being used on Saturday. However, the search has been hampered as the mobile phones of the missing boys are switched off.
Bharmour MLA Dr. Janak Raj stated that he is in constant touch with the government and all possible efforts are being made to locate the two minors. If weather conditions improve, a request will be made to conduct the search operation using helicopter services.
