The authorities in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday started diverting hundreds of stranded vehicles to Kullu and Mandi via an alternative road opened from Pandoh, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sunder Singh Thakur said.
Hundreds of people were stuck near Pandoh in Mandi district after landslides triggered by heavy rain on August 23 blocked the Mandi-Kullu Highway and the Kandi Katola Road. The administration had arranged for the stranded people to stay in relief camps set up in hotels, rest houses and other places.
Some vehicles were diverted towards Anni and Mandi late on Friday, Singh said.
“We requested additional police force in Mandi and Kullu and Director General of Police Sanjay Kundu has said that 50 personnel each would be deployed in the two districts,” he added.
Meanwhile, two pregnant women – Reshma and Bolma of Balichowki subdivision in Mandi – were airlifted by an Air Force helicopter for treatment at Zonal Hospital Mandi along with their husbands, officials said.
According to the state’s Emergency Operation Centre, 448 roads are blocked in the state.
Till August 25, 249 people have died in rain-related incidents since the onset of the monsoon on June 24. The Public Works Department alone has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 2,913 crore.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu earlier said that the state has so far suffered losses of Rs 12,000 crore due to the destruction caused by the monsoon rain.
Presiding over the 8th meeting of Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority here on Saturday, Chief Minister Sukhu said that about 47,390 volunteers were being provided disaster management training in the state so that their services could be utilized in the disaster hit areas.