Shimla, June 29: In view of a “red” alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall issued by the Met office on Sunday, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has directed the deputy commissioners of Kangra, Mandi, Sirmaur and Solan districts to order a closure of schools on June 30.
In its revised warning issued on Sunday evening, the Met office said “heavy to very heavy rains are likely to occur at a few places in the districts of Kangra, Mandi, Solan and Sirmaur, isolated places in Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Shimla districts and heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in Kullu and Chamba districts till Monday evening”.
Sukhu has directed the deputy commissioners of Kangra, Mandi, Sirmaur and Solan to order a closure of schools on Monday to ensure the safety of the students, according to a statement issued here on Sunday evening.
Following the chief minister’s instructions, Mandi DC Apoorva Devgan declared a holiday for all government and private educational institutions in the district, except the IIT-Mandi, the Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College and Hospital and other medical institutions, due to a potential threat of landslides, uprooting of trees, flash floods and road blockage.
Kangra DC Hemraj Bairwa also declared a holiday for all educational institutions in the district, excluding residential ones.
Meanwhile, services on the Shimla-Kalka rail line were suspended for hours till the debris and trees fallen on the tracks following overnight rains were removed.
Three fatalities due to rain-related incidents were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll since the onset of monsoon in the state to 20.
One person each drowned in Una and Bilaspur districts, while another died after falling from height in Shimla district, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.
A landslide near Koti on the Shimla-Kalka national highway (NH-5), connecting Shimla and Chandigarh, damaged some stretches of the road, resulting in a two-to-three-km-long traffic jam for hours.
Solan Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said two-way traffic was restored near Chakki Mod on NH-5, which was damaged due to landslides, and police are facilitating traffic movement.
An alternative route via the Jangeshu road was also closed due to fallen debris, which was being cleared. Traffic from Kasauli towards Chandigarh will be diverted via Jangeshu once the road is cleared.
Of the 12 districts, the “red” alert was issued for 10 — Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur, Una, Kullu and Chamba.
The Met office has warned of landslides, waterlogging, damage to vulnerable structures, traffic congestions and disruptions in essential services.
Heavy rains caused massive damage in the state in 2023, when the MeT office issued a “red” alert in the months of July and August. More than 550 people died that year, in the worst-ever monsoon disaster in Himachal Pradesh.
The train service on the Shimla-Kalka railway line — a UNESCO world heritage site — was disrupted on Sunday as boulders and trees fell on the track near Solan’s Koti area after heavy rain, officials said.
The repair work was underway, they added.
The first train that was scheduled to arrive in the morning was stuck at the Koti railway station, while other trains were halted at Gumman and Kalka.
Videos of passengers, waiting for hours, expressing their anger surfaced online.
Stones, trees and debris have fallen at various stretches of the rail line, not only in Koti but also till Shimla.
A bridge on the road leading to the Himuda Complex near the Truck Union in the Barotiwala industrial area of Solan district was washed away and the road to the Himuda Complex Mandhala and Bagguwala closed.
The Bald river in the Baddi area of the district was on surge and taking a fierce form near Jhadmajri. A threat of damage in the surrounding areas loomed as continuous rains were going on for hours.
Reports of water up to four feet entering more than 20 houses in Shivalik Nagar in Jhadmajri in the Baddi industrial area have also arrived.
Due to the lack of a proper drainage system, this problem is an annual affair during rains. Locals have informed the administration about the incident.
A makeshift canteen of tin sheets came down on NH-5, near Waknaghat. The shed was empty because a tin shed had fallen there due to a landslide during the last rain, after which the administration vacated it.
Meanwhile, the water level in the Juni Khad and Beas river in Mandi has increased and the administration has appealed to people not to go to the river bank and to stay alert.
Due to pre-monsoon flushing in the Larji dam, all five spillway gates of the Pandoh dam were opened on Sunday morning, resulting in the increase in the water level in the Beas.
About 44,000 cusecs of water is flowing in the river, the silt level has increased to 4,000 ppm and the Baggi tunnel has been closed for the time being, due to which the power generation at Dehar Power House has been temporarily stopped, Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) officials said.
The rains have led to the closure of 129 roads in the state, while 612 transformers were disrupted. The maximum damage to roads was reported from Sirmaur and Mandi districts, where 57 and 44 roads were blocked respectively.
Jogindernagar received 135 mm of rains since Saturday evening, followed by Kasauli (125 mm), Kahu (119.5 mm), Poanta Sahib (116.8 mm), Sundernagar (106 mm), Bilaspur (104.2 mm), Shimla and Bijahi (102 mm each), Ghaghas (92 mm), Kufri (91.5 mm) and Solan (88.2 mm).
Meanwhile, Dharampur recorded 84.2 mm of rain, Sujanpur Tira 79.8 mm, Pandoh 68 mm, Nagrota Suriyan 65.2 mm, Mandi 62.6 mm, Chopal 60 mm, Gohar and Murari Devi 60 mm each, Kangra 54.8 mm and Jatton Barrage 51 mm.
The weather department has also cautioned of moderate to high flash-flood risk in parts of 10 districts — Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur and Una — till Monday.
The Met office has issued “red” and “orange” warnings of heavy to very heavy rains in parts of Himachal Pradesh for Sunday and Monday, and predicted a wet spell in the hill state till July 5.
Thunderstorms lashed Sundernagar, Murari Devi, Kangra and Shimla and its adjoining areas of Kufri and Jubberhatti. Kukumseri was the coldest place in the state at night, recording a low of 14.3 degrees Celsius.
Rain-related incidents have claimed 20 lives in Himachal Pradesh since the onset of monsoon in the state on June 20, while four persons are missing, according to the SEOC. (PTI)
