54 killed in rain fury in Himachal, Uttarakhand; muted Independance-Day celebrations today

 

A

t least 54 people were killed as incessant rains pounded Himachal Pradesh and neighbouring Uttarakhand, triggering landslides that blocked key roads and highways, damaged homes and inundated several areas as rivers overflowed.

Of the 54 people, 51 of them died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh alone.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

In the capital Shimla, 14 bodies were pulled out from the sites of two landslides and officials feared there could be more people trapped under the debris of the Shiva temple in the Summer Hill are

Octopus Squad

The shrine was crowded with devotees, offering prayers on an important day of the holy month of Sawan. Nineteen people died in rain-related incidents in Mandi district, Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary told PTI.

In Solan, another badly affected district, 11 people, including seven members of a family, were killed. The weather office predicted extremely heavy rains in nine out of 12 districts of the state, barring Kullu, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti, on Monday and issued a yellow warning for Tuesday.

The officials said heavy rains were hampering rescue operations in Shimla, several parts of which were without electricity since Sunday night as landslides and uprooted trees damaged power lines.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu earlier said nine bodies were pulled out of the debris from a Shiva temple in the Summer Hill area in Shimla and the other site in the Fagli area where several houses were buried under mud and slush.

All schools and colleges in the state were closed on Monday.

In Solan district's Jadon village, seven members of a family were killed in a cloudburst on Sunday night. Two houses in the district were washed away following the cloudburst. While six people were rescued, seven others were killed, a police official said.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are engaged in relief and rescue operations in the hill state.

The Unesco world heritage Shimla-Kalka railway line was damaged near Summer Hill in Shimla after a landslide swept away a 50-metre bridge, leaving a portion of the track hanging in the air.

Along with the Army, personnel from the SDRF, NDRF, ITBP, and state police, among others, were involved in relief and rescue works, an official statement said.

The weather department has predicted a wet spell in the state till August 18.