Four passengers on a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus sustained serious injuries on Saturday morning after the bus, by which they were travelling, met with an accident on a damaged road. The bus, which was a part of the Sundernagar unit, was on its way to Shimla when the incident occurred in the Mandi district. According to an ANI, 12 others also suffered minor injuries in the accident.
The accident occurred after a stretch on the road from Sundernagar to Shimla caved, according to PTI. All the injured have been moved to a hospital. Further information is awaited.
A day ago, the Kalka-Shimla highway stretch was opened for light vehicles. Earlier, it was blocked by landslide debris. Roads in Himachal Pradesh have faced massive damages during the devastating monsoons this year.
According to ANI, the Revenue and Horticulture Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Jagat Singh Negi, had said that over 200 roads are still closed and restoration is underway. He said that losses are being incurred daily.
According to Negi, there has been a loss of at least Rs 6,000 crore. He further said that at least 234 deaths have been recorded so far. As many as 900 houses were fully damaged, whereas 7,500 houses reported partial damage.
Horticulture crops and orchards were also damaged by the rain and landslides. There are concerns over apple transportation because of the damaged roads as farmers aren't being able to send the harvested crops to other states.