Shimla, Jun 29 (PTI) The Manali-Leh highway was closed and about a dozen villages were cut off from the district headquarters in Himachal’s tribal Lahaul and Spiti district following flash floods, officials said on Monday.
Locals said the road to district headquarters, Keylong, is obstructed by debris collected by the floodwaters. The Jobrang bridge, which is a critical link to remate parts of the district, is also inundated with water.
Manali-Leh highway was closed following a flash flood at Jispa while several villages could not be reached following a flash flood in Jhalma nallah.
Melting of snow on the mountain peaks have caused the water level to rise in Jhalma nallah, locals said. Videos of the flash floods are widely circulating on the internet.
The BRO’s 70 RCC unit is currently working through the night with three machines at the Manali-Leh highway, officials said.
Ten to twelve vehicles were successfully cleared earlier, the road is getting blocked due to the intense flooding, they said.
The BRO is working diligently, making every effort to reopen the road, a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) officil said. If the situation normalises slightly, the road could be reopened tonight, he added.
The Shimla Met Centre on Monday issued an orange warning for heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places in a number of districts of Himachal Pradesh on July 2-3.
The orange alert has been issued for Kangra and Mandi districts on July 2 and 3, and for Kullu, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts on July 3.
Some parts of the state saw moderate rains in the last 24 hours since Saturday evening. Shimla, Kangra and Sundernagar recorded thunderstorms and lightning.
According to the weather office, Murari Devi received 63.6 mm of rain, followed by Brahmani (51.4 mm), Ghaghas (50 mm), Berthin (45.2 mm), Neri (42.5 mm), Hamirpur (36 mm), Shilaroo (33.6 mm), Slapper (45.1 mm), Bijahi (45.7 mm), Sundernagar (26.2 mm), Bilaspur (26 mm), Jubberhatti (25.5 mm) and Shimla (20.8 mm).
The weather department also predicted a wet spell in Himachal Pradesh till July 4 as a fresh western disturbance is likely to affect northwest India from July 2.
Kukumseri was the coldest in the state with a low of 8.3 degrees Celsius, while Una was the hottest with a maximum temperature of 36 degrees Celsius. PTI BPL SKY SKY
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