Shimla/Rampur, July 20 (PTI) Flash floods blocked roads and damaged farmlands, and vehicles in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla and Kinnaur districts on Thursday, prompting authorities to postpone the Kinner Kailash Yatra.
Since the onset of the monsoon in the hill state on June 24, 131 people have died in rain-related incidents such as landslides, flash floods, and road accidents, according to the Himachal Pradesh State Emergency Response Centre. The state has suffered a loss of Rs 4,985 crore. In Kinnaur, the flash floods and cloudburst triggered by heavy rains damaged 27 vehicles and inundated agricultural land in Kamru Panchayat in the Sangla valley on Thursday, Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Tarul S Raveesh said.
Reports of floods damaging houses in Kamru have also started pouring in, Raveesh said.
Due to the inclement weather, the Kinner Kailash Yatra, which usually starts from Kalpa on August 1 has been tentatively postponed to August 15, the DC said.
The Yatra culminates at the Kinner Kailash peak located at a height of 6,050 metres in Kinnaur district.
All the schools in the Nichar subdivision and Sangla tehsil have been closed for three days due to heavy rains. High alert has been sounded in the district till July 25 and all the residents have been advised to remain alert and stay indoors, the Kinnaur DC said.
The road near the Rungnu nullah in Kinnaur that was closed following floods has been partially restored for one-way traffic, she added.
Since the monsoon’s onset in the state, the Kinnaur district has suffered losses of Rs 88.95 crore so far this monsoon.
Shimla DC Aditya Negi said following a cloudburst, the water level in the Broni Nallah increased and inundated the Shimla-Kinnaur National Highway-5 between Rampur and Jhakri.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started work to open the road for vehicular movement, the DC said, adding that reports of floods damaging land in Narkanda have started pouring in.
No casualty was reported in Kinnaur and Shimla districts so far on Thursday, the officials said.
Due to heavy rains for several days, as many as 676 roads are blocked for vehicular movement in the state, according to officials.
A total of 578 houses have been damaged completely and 4,973 partially. Damaged properties also include 233 shops and 1,463 cowsheds in the state.
The agriculture and horticulture losses have gone up to about Rs 228 crore, the officials said and added that central teams are inspecting the rain-affected areas of the state.
The local meteorological office has issued a yellow warning of heavy rains at isolated places till July 24. It also cautioned of low to moderate flash flood risk in Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Shimla and Sirmaur districts.
Light to heavy rains lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh, and Narkanda received 88 mm of rain, Shillaro (Shimla) 86 mm, Karsog 38.5 mm, Bharmour 38 mm, Sarahan 35 mm and Jubbarhatti 34 mm. PTI COR BPL RPA RPA
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