In Himachal, one night’s torrential rain revives horrific memories of 2023 disaster
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455 roads closed, 983 drinking water schemes hit, 178 power transformers dysfunctional
The state of Himachal Pradesh was thrown into chaos once again as a single night of torrential rain brought back scenes reminiscent of last year’s catastrophic disaster. In just seven hours, an astonishing 305 mm of rain, significantly more than normal, was recorded.
The Meteorological Centre at Shimla had issued a red alert from Tuesday night, anticipating severe weather. The Kullu-Manali National Highway, Bharmour-Pathankot National Highway and the Mandi-Chandigarh National Highway all faced closures due to the heavy downpour. The latter remained blocked for 10 hours.
In the wake of the deluge, a total of 455 roads across the state are closed, along with 495 bus routes, 983 drinking water schemes, and 178 transformers. Water had to be released from the Pandoh Dam as the water level in Beas river rose alarmingly. Various departments have reported combined losses amounting to Rs 215 crore.
On Wednesday night, a cloudburst struck simultaneously in Nain Sarovar and Bhimdwari in Nirmand, Kullu district, at midnight. The resulting floodwaters surged towards Bagipul, Samej and Ganvi, wreaking havoc up to 30 km downstream.
In Samej, located on the Shimla-Kullu border, 30 houses were washed away. Thirtysix persons, including six children, are missing. Among the missing are four migrants, seven employees of the Greenco Samej project and 22 local residents. The flood also swept away 150 animals, a school, a primary health centre and two power projects.
Bagipul in Nirmand suffered severe damage as 10 shops, a residential house operated as a hotel, two Patwar Ghars, 15 parked vehicles, a bus station and eight bridges were washed away. Among the missing are five members of a local’s family and two persons of Nepalese origin. Two bodies have been recovered so far. At Ganvi in Rampur, five houses, three vehicles and a bridge were swept away.
The flood caused by a cloudburst in Malana Nallah of Manikaran Valley in Kullu broke the dam of the Malana Power Project-1. In Baladhi village, a government school, two temples, eight houses and a bridge were destroyed. The rising waters of the Parvati river swept away a bridge and the multi-story building of Sabzi Mandi at Shot collapsed. In Sainj, a private bus and a bike were washed away in the Parvati River.
In Rajban, Mandi, three houses were buried under debris following a cloudburst on Wednesday night. Of the 12 residents, three have died, two are injured and seven are missing, including four children, two women and a youth.
The flood also washed away 12 vehicles, three bridges and two gharaats (watermills) on the Thaltukhod road. In Chamba’s Rajnagar panchayat, a cloudburst at 1 am in Rupni Nallah caused 20 vehicles to be buried under debris.
