S Gopal Puri
Shimla: Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, while on an official tour in Bihar, convened a live virtual meeting on Friday with senior officials from Lahaul-Spiti to oversee the ongoing crisis affecting the region.
During the session, which was streamed on the CM’s official social media handles, Sukhu directly asked Deputy Commissioner Kiran Bhadana how many times she had visited the field since the situation escalated.
Kiran Bhadana responded that she had been “in the field all the time,” especially around Sissu, where about 380 tourists and 333 vehicles were stranded, amid a disrupted landscape due to the Pagal Nala landslide.
She also informed the CM of a partial resumption of power at the Tharot and Billing hydroelectric plants, while other plants including Jaspa, Darcha, and Niyad are still non-operational.
Authorities have carved out alternate routes to facilitate evacuations; 66 vehicles have been diverted through Rohtang.
Sukhu urged officials to prioritise the evacuation of all tourists from Lahaul, directing them to set specific targets rather than keep the moving around.
“If roads are impassable, ensure evacuation on foot,” he instructed. He further authorized security forces to take temporary custody of stranded vehicles, provided they issue proper receipts—“Just keep the vehicles,” the CM said.
The DC reported that approximately 200 tourists had already been evacuated the previous day. “That’s good,” Sukhu replied, “but ensure all tourists are guided out of Lahaul-Spiti—not left behind.”
