A devastating landslide in the Summer Hill area of rain-battered Shimla has led to a heart-wrenching tragedy, as a family lost three generations in the catastrophe. The bodies of five family members have been recovered so far, while two persons remain missing.
Sunita Sharma, a distressed relative of the victims, pleaded, "I have just one request, find them and bring them to us. We will accept them dead or alive. We have been waiting for three days…"
Sunedhi, the sister of one of the missing persons, expressed the overwhelming grief that has gripped the family: "We don't know what God did to us." The sombre mood is shared by Vinod, another brother of the missing individuals, who emphasized the need for improved safety measures in such areas. He was quoted as saying by ANI, "Administration should make such areas safe, have some kind of system in place to ensure that the water recedes immediately."
Mehar Singh H Verma, a neighbour, reflected on the scale of loss: "We performed the last rites of four of the members yesterday. They lost their three generations."
The rain-related havoc in Himachal Pradesh has claimed the lives of around 60 people. Among them, 13 bodies have been recovered in the Shimla Summer Hill landslide incident. According to BS Rajput, 14th in command at the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), "… we have the proof of 21 victims here. Till yesterday (Tuesday) we recovered 12 bodies. Today we got one more body, so 13 bodies have been recovered. We are using specialised equipment other than heavy machinery. We can't confirm when will the search be over because the bodies in the down area are spread over at least 2 km and we can't use machines there so rescue has to be done manually."
Earlier on Tuesday, Bhanu Gupta, SDM Shimla (Urban), underlined the gravity of the situation, saying there could be as many as 21 bodies in total: "So far, we have recovered 12 bodies. Our search and rescue operation is going on. In our team, we have NDRF, SDRF, army, local police, and homeguard."
In a separate incident, a massive landslide wreaked havoc on several houses in Krishnanagar in Shimla on Tuesday. Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu shared alarming visuals and noted, "Horrifying visuals of another landslide that took place at Krishna Nagar- Shimla today. The residents of these houses were evacuated earlier this morning by the administration fearing landslide."
CM Sukhu also reported on the ongoing rescue operation, stating that over 800 people have been evacuated from the low-lying areas of Kangra near the Pong Dam. He emphasized the government's commitment to rapid restoration efforts, including electricity and water supply schemes.
The rain and flood-related toll extended to the urban areas, where more than 500 trees were uprooted in Shimla, posing challenges to the locals. CM Sukhu directed prompt disposal of the trees and called for reinforcing drainage systems. He also instructed the compilation of a detailed project report on the proposed measures, as the state grapples with the aftermath of nature's fury.