Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government is grappling with the mammoth task of rescuing those stranded in rain-ravaged areas of the state, even as the death toll reached 33. Heavy rains have lashed the state over the past week, leading to landslides and flash floods.
Giving an update of the ground situation, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu tweeted Thursday that more than 60,000 tourists have been evacuated while around 10,000 were still stuck in Kasol and Tirthan Valley due to damaged roads
After a few failed attempts due to bad weather, all 255 tourists and locals stranded for five days in Chadra Taal in Spiti valley of Lahaul Spiti district were finally evacuated Thursday noon. “All the tourists are safe and have been taken to Kaza,” officiating Director General Police (Himachal) Satwant Atwal Trivedi told ThePrint.
Lahaul Spiti additional deputy commissioner Rahul Jain, who was with the rescue team, said, “Snow clearing exercise took much of the time. It took more than an hour to clear 1 km as the road was covered with 3 to 4 ft snow,” he said, in a video statement.
One of those rescued tourists, Yashika from Uttar Pradesh, told ThePrint over the phone, “It was the happiest moment of my life when I saw the rescue vehicle at Chandratal. For a while, we didn’t even know if any help was coming our way.” Earlier, seven of the tourists who were unwell were airlifted Tuesday.
The rescue team comprised SP Lahaul Spiti Mayank Chaudhary, personnel from Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Border Roads Organisation, and other departments.
In another rescue operation, 118 tourists and locals were evacuated from Sangla and all were airlifted to Raksham. Israel resident Talli said she was stuck in Kinnaur region for five days. “I am happy that I am going back. I had no idea that the weather could turn this bad,” she told ThePrint over phone.
Kinnaur divisional commissioner Torul S Raveesh said to ThePrint, “The situation worsened after flash floods hit Sangla in Kinnaur Wednesday. The district administration, police, army and other departments carried out a successful rescue operation.”
“Efforts are on to restore normalcy. Electricity, phone networks and essential supplies have been restored in most parts of the rain-hit areas,” the CM said while talking to the media Thursday evening.
Apprehending deaths due to drowning, the authorities have started search operations along the Beas river, an official said to ThePrint.
Principal secretary, revenue, Onkar Sharma said to ThePrint that since the onset of monsoon on 24 June, 91 people died while 16 were missing. He said the monsoon fury has caused total losses of Rs 1,936 cr. However, earlier the CM had pegged the losses due to rains, cloudbursts and flash floods at Rs 4,000 cr.
So far, there have been 23 incidents of landslides, 11 flash floods this monsoon. More than 1,100 roads are still closed besides damage to over 5,000 water supply schemes across the state, said Sharma.
The central government has allocated Rs 180 cr for state disaster response fund (SDRF), according to the Press Information Bureau.
Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla has spoken to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and apprised him of the situation, a governor house official said to ThePrint. Former CM Jairam Thakur, who visited flood affected Mandi, Kullu region, also met Shah in New Delhi Thursday to discuss the situation. BJP national president J.P. Nadda is scheduled to visit the rain-ravaged region of the state Friday.
Officiating DGP Atwal Trivedi said, “We have connected more than 2,500 families to those stranded through the control room we have established. We are scanning social media to gather more details. People have been sending us vehicle registration numbers. The rescued people have been posting videos on social media. This has brought hope to many.”
Apple growers worry
Apple farmers are worried as major and link roads in the major apple growing districts, Shimla, Mandi and Kullu, are damaged. Talking to the press in Shimla Thursday, Sukhu said, “We will not let the farmers suffer due to bad roads. Repairing roads in apple growing areas will be a priority.”
However, farmers are skeptical. They say the rains have caused such damage and despite the best efforts of the government, it would take time.
“Farmers are already in distress as there is a poor crop this year. Now transportation has become a challenge. Shimla’s fruit market yard has been closed after the landslide,” Harish Chauhan, a farmer from Shimla’s Kotkhai, said to ThePrint.
Haryana Road Transport Corporation managing director, Rohan Chand Thakur, told the media Thursday that around 300 buses were still stuck on the roads.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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