Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], August 22 (ANI): Heavy monsoon rains continued to batter Himachal Pradesh, disrupting key public utilities across the state. According to the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HPSDMA), as of Thursday evening.
Three hundred forty-six roads, including one national highway (NH-305), remained blocked, while 281 distribution transformers were out of service, cutting power to several areas. A total of 145 water supply schemes were also disrupted due to landslides, flash floods, and heavy rainfall.
The monsoon toll since June 20 has climbed to 287 deaths, of which 149 people died in rain-related incidents such as landslides, flash floods, and drowning, and 138 lost their lives in road accidents, the HPSDMA said.
Kullu district is among the worst-hit, with 123 roads blocked and NH-305 closed at multiple points, cutting off access to remote areas. Mandi reported 164 road closures, while Kangra saw 29 roads blocked. Kinnaur, Lahaul & Spiti, and other hill districts also suffered disruptions due to heavy rains, shooting stones, and flash floods.
Power supply was severely impacted in parts of Kullu, Mandi, and Kinnaur. In Kinnaur’s Pooh and Reckong Peo divisions, 10 transformers were knocked out after damage to high-voltage lines, affecting villages including Shipkila, Lambar, and Charang. In Mandi, 63 transformers were disrupted, while Kullu reported 196 outages.
Water supply systems have also taken a major hit, with 75 schemes in Kullu, 54 in Mandi, and several others in Kangra, Lahaul and Spiti, and Una remaining non-functional.
Authorities are working to restore connectivity and essential services, but persistent rains and fresh landslides are hampering operations.
The rain-related fatalities include deaths due to landslides (10), flash floods (9), cloudbursts (17), drowning (29), lightning (2), fires (13), electrocution (10), falls from steep terrain (30), and other incidents (25).
Kangra district has reported the highest rain-related death toll at 29, followed by Mandi (26), Chamba (14), Kullu and Hamirpur (13 each), and Kinnaur (12).In road accidents, Chamba tops the list with 21 deaths, followed by Mandi (22), Kangra (18), Shimla (15), Kinnaur (13), Solan (13), Kullu (11), Una (8), Sirmaur (7), Bilaspur and Hamirpur (3 each), and Lahaul & Spiti (1).In the disaster, 342 people were reported injured, and 1,803 animals died along with over 25,700 poultry birds.
Property damage has been severe, with 300 fully damaged and 335 partially damaged houses, 773 cowsheds, and losses to shops, factories, labour sheds, and agricultural assets. (ANI)
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