The incessant rainfall in Himachal Pradesh has damaged several roads in the state. On Wednesday, a beeline of vehicles was seen on the Kullu-Mandi road in the Kullu district after it was damaged due to the heavy downpour. Kullu SP Sakshi Verma said that alternate routes were opened one of which passes via Pandoh. The other route was the Kandi-Katuala-Kamand, however, both of them had suffered multiple damages causing the movement on these routes to stop as well. An official said the Public Works Department (PWD) was trying to restore the normal flow of traffic at the earliest.
Verma said that there has been continuous rainfall on Tuesday night, despite which the PWD is working on clearing the Kamand road. She said that if the rain didn’t disrupt the work again, the road maybe cleared for Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs). She said traffic has been slow since Tuesday night and added that most of the vehicles that carry fruits and vegetables were stranded on these routes.
Meanwhile, those stranded spoke out about their plight. A driver stuck on the Kullu-Mandi route said that they had been stranded since Wednesday morning and that they couldn’t find anything to eat or drink. He further said that the traffic jam extends by at least 5-10 kilometres.
“We don’t know what to do, they should open the roads soon.”
Earlier, Dharamshala-Shimla National Highway 88 was not operational for movement of vehicles as a small bridge collapsed on Wednesday morning near Jawalamukhi. SP Kangra, Shalini Agnihotri told ANI that “Rain has hit normal life and NH 88 is disconnected as a small brigade collapsed this (Tuesday) morning. There is very heavy rainfall in several pockets of the district. There is a risk of landslides at various places and we appeal to people to avoid travelling in such climatic conditions.”
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had also issued a red alert, predicting heavy to very rainfall in Himachal Pradesh over two days starting Thursday.
The woes of residents were compounded further by heavy and extensive water logging and the uprooting of trees, putting lives in danger. Over the last 24 hours, Shimla recorded 190 mm of rainfall, an official said, adding that the city received 60 mm of rainfall on Thursday morning.
Incessant rainfall in Himachal has led to landslides, cloudbursts and flash floods, causing significant damage to the ecologically sensitive hill state. The state government, earlier, declared the whole state as a 'natural calamity affected area'. The Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority is constantly keeping an eye on the changes due to the weather. Emergency numbers have also been issued in the state to help the people.