Heavy rain, flash floods and landslides continued to wreak havoc across Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, disrupting normal life, damaging roads, bridges and buildings, and leaving several areas cut off as the monsoon intensified.
On Saturday, Sirmaur received the highest rainfall of 57.3mm, followed by Solan ( 36.6 mm) and Shimla (29.8 mm). However, from Friday at 8 pm to Saturday at 8 am, Nahan in Sirmaur recorded the highest rainfall of 158.9 mm, followed by Solan (80.2 mm), Nagrota Suriyan in Kangra (62.5 mm), Shimla (37.5 mm), and Sainj in Kullu (48.0 mm).
The Met office has issued a yellow alert for moderate to heavy rains in isolated places in Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, Bilaspur and Sirmour districts for Saturday.
In Kinnaur district, a bailey bridge connecting the Sangla valley gave way as slope instability weakened its foundation due to incessant rainfall. The bridge, installed only last year, was declared vulnerable amid continuous rain and ground subsidence. Authorities, meanwhile, diverted traffic through an alternative bypass road and advised commuters to avoid the damaged stretch.
The Sangla-Chitkul road was blocked near Batseri after a landslide sent large boulders and debris crashing onto the road.
Kinnaur police appealed to residents and tourists to exercise extreme caution while travelling during the monsoon.
In Shimla, a hillside collapsed in the Bothwell area near Sanjauli College at around 4 am, causing panic among residents who were asleep. Though no casualties were reported, the retaining slope beneath the road gave way, damaging the access path to nearby houses and placing three to four residential buildings under serious threat.
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Meanwhile, two vehicles were buried under debris in another landslide in the Rajhana area on the outskirts of Shimla on Saturday, while a pedestrian pathway collapsed in Mini Kuftadhar. In Shankli, a portion of a residential building caved in due to continuous rainfall.
The Sainj Valley in Kullu district also suffered extensive damage after persistent rain. A swollen rivulet damaged the road connecting Shakti and Maraur villages and washed away a bridge linking the two villages. A pedestrian bridge at Chainnaga was also swept away, severely disrupting connectivity and the movement of essential supplies.
In Solan district, five members of a family were injured after rocks and debris fell on their moving car on the Gambharpul-Sarli road near Narwad village. The injured were shifted to a hospital, while police registered a case and began an investigation. The road was restored later in the day.
Traffic movement was also severely affected on the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway diversion near Maigal, where nearly 1.5 kilometres of the temporary route turned into a muddy stretch, trapping ambulances, buses and other vehicles and causing a traffic jam stretching nearly two kilometres.
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Meanwhile, AD Hydro Power Limited carried out desilting operations at the Duhangan weir in Kullu, releasing around 11 cumecs of water downstream and advising people to stay away from riverbanks.
