According to the Chief Minister’s office’s most recent statistics, 60 people have died in the state as a result of the severe rain and landslides. Ten NDRF teams were sent to the affected communities, and the Air Force took part in airlifting the stuck inhabitants.
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The Tragic Toll
On Tuesday, three more bodies were discovered among the debris at the site of the collapsed Shiv temple in Shimla. Rescuers feared there might still be more bodies trapped. According to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, 60 persons have died in Himachal Pradesh as a result of rain and landslide-related incidents since Monday. Speaking to the news agency ANI, he stated that while 9 people died in the state’s landslides on Tuesday, 51 people died on Monday.
“There are 21 victims in the Summer Hill landslip incident,” an NDRF spokesperson told ANI, and they have the proof. “We found 12 bodies up to yesterday. There have now been 13 recovered bodies as of today. We do not use big machines, but rather specific equipment. The bodies in the down region are spread out over at least 2 km, making it impossible for us to utilise machinery there, thus rescue must be done manually, so we are unable to say when the search will be over.”
Several homes collapsed in a landslip yesterday in the Krishnanagar neighbourhood of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, prompting rescue efforts.
At both Summer Hill and Krishna Nagar, rescue efforts are in progress. According to Deputy Commissioner Shimla Aditya Negi, 13 bodies have so far been retrieved from the Shiv Temple in the Summer Hill neighbourhood, while one body and one head that was severed have been discovered in Krishna Nagar.
Roads Blocked
Although the majority of Himachal Pradesh’s rain has stopped, the hill state’s landslides are still reportedly occurring in several areas, closing roughly 700 roads, including three national highways and interfering with power and water supplies.
Evacuation Operation Due to Flood
“More than 800 residents of Kangra’s low-lying regions near Pong Dam were forced to leave their houses when the dam reservoir’s rising waters rendered them impassable. More people have to be evacuated, therefore the evacuation operation is still ongoing,” Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu posted on ‘X’.
In the Kangra district, where numerous villages in the Indora, Fatehpur, and Jawalamukhi districts experienced floods due to the discharge of excess water by the Pong dam, a total of six teams of the National Disaster Relief Force had been dispatched as of Wednesday morning. Stuck residents in these places are being airlifted by the Air Force.
Schools Remain Closed in Himachal
Due to the ongoing rain throughout the state, the Himachal Pradesh Education Department has issued an order requesting that all schools and colleges be closed today. The order said that on August 16, all public and private schools and institutions would be shuttered. According to a statement from the authorities, the order was put in place with the safety and wellbeing of the students in mind.
Arindam Chaudhary, the Mandi district’s deputy commissioner, has mandated that all schools and colleges in the area be closed on August 16 and 17. This choice was taken in response to the district’s road restrictions brought on by heavy rain and landslides. The order stated that on August 16 and 17, all public and private educational institutions, career centres, and Anganwadi centres in the district would be closed. On August 16 and 17, Shimla’s schools and institutions will also be closed.
The Himachal Pradesh University has also postponed classes till August 19.
Point to be Noted
“I’m heading to Kangra,” the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated. “There are over 650 persons who we have evacuated. A rescue effort is being conducted for about 100 trapped individuals in Kangra. Shimla has located another body. Approximately Rs 10,000 crores have been lost by the state. To rebuild the state’s infrastructure, it will take us around a year,” he added.
