Amid incessant downpours that led to massive destruction of the roads and infrastructure in Himachal Pradesh, the government of the hill state faces the daunting task of restoring over 1,239 roads in the state, which includes national highways like Chandigarh-Manali and Kalka-Shimla.
The rains have wreaked havoc in Himachal Pradesh triggering landslides, blocking roads, causing power disruption and damaging bridges. The hill state has suffered a huge loss of Rs 780 crore due to heavy downpour and the figure is expected to go up as excessive damage has been caused to roads, bridges and water supply schemes in the past week.
Heavy rainfall has resulted in casualties and devastation in many parts of the country, with Himachal being the worst hit. As the rains receded it left behind the trail of destruction which will take a long time to undo.
When the intensity of the rains reduced, the government of the northern state focussed on rescuing and evacuating stranded people and tourists from Manali, Lahaul and Spiti and Shimla.
The rains have stopped since Monday evening and the rescue operations and road restoration work have gained pace. Meanwhile, many areas of its neighboring states – Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh – continued to be flooded.
Himachal highways blocked
The Chandigarh -Manali national highway has been blocked at a place recognised as Six Mile near Mandi since the weekend. According to the officials, the highway was blocked at four places, out of which three were supposed to be cleared out by Tuesday. However, a 150-meter-wide rockslide is still blocking the national highway.
According to the reports, at least 1,239 roads in the state continued to remain inaccessible for the third consecutive day and the officials are making efforts to restore road connectivity in Manali, Kasol, and Parvati Valley.
Meanwhile, the government of the hill state appealed to the Union government to restore the blocked national highways on a priority basis.
‘Himachal roads to open in next 48 hours’
Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mukesh Agnihotri in an interaction with media said that they have approached the NHAI as clearing the national highways is their responsibility. The deputy CM further urged the NHAI to deploy more machinery for restoration of highways and normalisation of the situation.
Agnihotri also added that efforts are being made to open the roads within the next 48 hours. On the other hand, officials highlighted that the level of destruction is huge and it will take some time to clear out the boulders from highways. Officials also added that the speed of the restoration work will also depend on the weather.
Tourists to be airlifted from Lahaul and Spiti district
The government of the state has urged the Centre for the deployment of Indian Air Force helicopters to airlift standard tourists from the tribal areas, including Chandratal in Lahaul and Spiti district as inessent rainfall continues to block highways.
Over 300 tourists are stranded at Chandratal Lake camps located at around 14,100 feet and are likely to be airlifted soon.
Bus services suspended in Himachal
Amid heavy rainfall and multiple landslides, the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) has suspended bus services on 1416 routes due to road blockages on highways.
31 die in Himachal as rain wreaks havoc
After three days of onslaught, rainfall activity ebbed in north India on Tuesday revealing the extent of death and destruction. The death toll mounted to 31 in Himachal Pradesh, which had reported 18 deaths till Monday, while neighbouring Uttarakhand witnessed five fatalities. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan reported one death each in rain-related incidents.