A cloudburst on Tuesday severely damaged multiple houses and washed away several bridges in Himachal Pradesh’s Gadsa Valley region in Kullu. In a video posted by news agency ANI on Twitter, district officials were seen using cranes to clear the debris due to landslides and heavy rain in the state following the cloudburst. Portions of many houses were also seen being swept away by strong currents after the cloudburst hit the valley. Many uprooted trees were also seen lying along the streets.
The cloudburst also disrupted the power supply in the area and caused immense damage to the agricultural land, said officials. According to a report by news agency PTI, at least two bridges and several cattle are feared to have been washed away due to the cloudburst. Moreover, the Bhuntar-Gadsa road was also badly damaged along several stretches.
Meanwhile, revenue officials reached the site to evaluate and review the situation on ground zero. They said some roads continue to remain blocked.
On Monday, the Kullu district administration asked locals residing along the banks of the Parvati to remain alert after the water level started to overflow because of a malfunctioning gate of the Malana Dam, reported PTI. Kullu’s Deputy Commissioner Ashutosh Garg was quoted as saying by PTI: "We have alerted the people living in villages on the banks of the river that they would be evacuated in case of a breach in Malana Dam 2.”
Garg further said the situation is not so serious because only 30 cusecs of water are overflowing. He added that the Malana Dam 1 below the stream can hold water for some more time even in case of a breach, which will help evacuation to take place. Meanwhile, the local Meteorological Office earlier sounded an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall at some isolated places in eight of the 12 districts of the state on July 26 and 27. It also cautioned against landslides, flash floods, mudslides and increased runoff in rivers.