Himachal Rains: Himachal Pradesh witnessed a fresh wave of chaos on Friday as relentless rains triggered flash floods and landslides across multiple districts, leading to large-scale road closures and traffic disruption. Key routes like the Chandigarh-Manali and Manali-Leh highways were shut for vehicular movement, stranding passengers and halting daily transport.

A major landslide at Kainch Mor near the Pandoh dam in Mandi district left a taxi driver from Chandigarh, Jai Kishan, injured and his vehicle badly damaged. In another alarming development, a portion of Shivabadar Road caved in, completely severing connectivity between Chandigarh and the Manali NH-21, and isolating Shivabadar village.

As vehicles began to pile up on both ends, traffic came to a complete halt. Authorities, in a bid to prevent further mishaps, stopped vehicular movement near the Pandoh dam. However, continuous rain hampered restoration work despite deployment of manpower and machinery.

Superintendent of Police, Mandi, Sakshi Verma, assured that "one-way traffic would be restored as soon as the rains stop."

In Lahaul and Spiti district, the Manali-Leh NH-3 was rendered impassable after a massive flood in the Masheran nallah scattered debris and boulders across the stretch near Jispa. Several fields were destroyed in the process.

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Lahaul and Spiti MLA Anuradha Rana confirmed that road-clearing equipment was deployed and said that the administration was “on the job”.

Another landslide blocked the Chandigarh-Manali NH-21 near Samlatu in Bilaspur district. Officials managed to open it to one-way traffic, but one side of the highway remains buried under debris.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), 291 roads remained blocked as of Thursday evening, with Mandi district alone accounting for 171 of them. Additionally, 416 power distribution transformers and 219 water supply schemes were affected.

In July, the state recorded 250.3 mm of rainfall, just short of the average 255.9 mm, a 2 per cent deficit. Despite this, the impact has been severe. On Friday, the Met Department issued a yellow alert for heavy rain in isolated parts of up to 10 districts until Tuesday.

Among the highest rainfall recipients were Bhattiyat in Chamba (118 mm), Banjar (52.4 mm), Bharari (45.2 mm), and Murari Devi (43 mm).

Since the onset of the monsoon on June 20, Himachal has suffered damages amounting to Rs 1,626 crore, according to PTI. So far, 95 people have lost their lives, 36 are missing, and 1,472 houses have been either partially or completely damaged. The monsoon season has also brought 44 flash floods, 27 cloudbursts, and 40 major landslides.

WITH PTI INPUTS