Shimla, Sept 3: Fresh devastation due to rain was witnessed in Himachal Pradesh where rescue personnel recovered four more bodies from the debris of a landslide in Mandi district while two persons, including an NDRF jawan, were feared dead as two houses collapsed in Kullu district, officials said on Wednesday.
All government and private colleges and schools, Anganwadi and coaching centres will remain closed in the state till September 7 in view of the inclement weather, an order said.
The officials said four more bodies of those hit by the landslide near BBMB Colony of Sundernagar area on Tuesday evening were recovered, taking the death toll to seven.
Sundernagar Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Amar Negi said that out of the seven, five were part of the same family.
Three of the deceased have been identified as Surinder Kaur, her son Gurpreet Singh and Prakash Sharma, while details of others are awaited, the SDM said.
In a similar incident in the Akhada Bazaar area of Kullu district, two persons including a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) jawan are feared dead after two houses collapsed following a landslide late on Tuesday night, the officials said.
They have been identified as NDRF jawan Narinder (37) and a Kashmiri youth, Waqar Ahmad (24). Rescue operations are underway, they added.
Reports continued to pour in of more devastation as five trucks parked on the roadside at Wangtu in Kinnaur district were damaged due to falling rocks from the hill, while residents of 15 houses were evacuated in Kunduni village in Jogindernagar in Mandi after a landslip posed a threat.
Residents had a narrow escape when debris from a mountain fell on a house in Chauhra village in Kandaghat in Solan district on Tuesday night, the officials said.
The back wall of a primary school in the Jamli area in Bilaspur district has collapsed and water entered the building, following heavy rainfall in the past four days, the officials said.
Rains also triggered landslides and uprooted trees near Ramchandra Chowk and Benmore area in state capital Shimla.
Education Secretary Rakesh Kanwar said teachers and administrative staff will also be exempted from attending colleges and schools. However, heads of institutions have been asked to ensure that classes are conducted through online mode, whenever possible, he said.
Due to prevalent inclement weather conditions, there is a high possibility of recurrence of such incidents at several locations in the entire state and, therefore, it has been decided to close schools to ensure the security and safety of students and staff, the order added.
The heads of educational institutions have been asked to remain vigilant during this period to ensure the safety and security of the infrastructure and movable assets and ensure the safekeep of movable assets and school records, the order further said.
Road travel was disrupted in the state with 1,362 roads blocked. While 295 were blocked in Mandi, 234 in Shimla, 226 in Kullu, 204 in Chamba and 121 in Sirmaur district, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.
National Highway-3 (Mandi-Dharampur road), National Highway-5 (Old Hindustan-Tibet road), NH305 (Aut-Sainj road), NH-503 (Dharamshala to Mubarakpur) and NH-505 (Khab to Gramphu) are also closed.
Trains plying on the Shimla-Kalka track have been cancelled till Friday (September 5) following landslips on the track.
Moderate to heavy rains continued to lash parts of Himachal where Naina Devi received 136 mm of rain since Tuesday night, Jot 100.6 mm, Solan 86 mm, Manali 85 mm, Pachhad 77 mm, Kothi 68.4 mm, Shimla 67.8 mm, Chamba 66 mm, Nahan 65.2 mm, Bilaspur 60.4 mm, Rohru 60 mm, Jubbar hatti 59.6 mm, Kufri 57 mm, Bhuntar 56.4 mm and Palampur 52.6 mm.
The local Met office has issued an orange warning of heavy to very heavy rains in isolated areas of the state on Wednesday.
Since the onset of monsoon in Himachal on June 20, the state has witnessed 95 flash floods, 45 cloudbursts and 127 major landslide incidents.
At least 343 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents, while 43 are missing since the monsoon began.
The state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 3,690 crore this monsoon so far, according to official data. (PTI)
