22 killed, several injured due to rain-triggered landslides in Himachal Pradesh

Twentytwo people including eight members of a family were killed and six feared dead in incidents of landslide and flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh since Friday officials said Ten people were injured state Disaster Management Department Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said on SaturdayThe maximum damage has been reported from Mandi Kangra and Chamba districts he said adding that so far 36 weatherrelated incidents have been reported from the state As many as 743 roads including the ManaliChandigarh national highway at Mandi and the ShimlaChandigarh highway at Shoghi have been blocked for traffic he addedAlso readHimachal Pradesh Woman her child killed in landslide in ChambaIn Mandi alone 13 people died and six went missing in flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary said Those missing are feared dead he said Bodies of eight members of a family were retrieved from the debris of their house after a fourhourlong search operation by the National Disaster Response Force NDRF and police at Kashan village in Gohar development block he added The house collapsed in a landslideThe body of a girl was recovered at some distance away from her house after a flash flood in Baghi nullah on the MandiKatolaPrashar road the DC said adding that five members of her family are feared washed away Several families left their homes located between Baghi and Old Katola areas after a cloud burst and took shelter at safer places he added In Kangra a ldquokutchardquo house collapsed killing a nineyearold child officials saidMeanwhile trains on the JogindernagarPathankot route have been suspended as Chakki Bridge in Himachal Pradeshrsquos Kangra district collapsed due to heavy rainfall on Saturday officials said The Railway authorities had declared the bridge unsafe and the train service on the narrow gauge track from Pathankot Punjab to Jogindernagar Himachal Pradesh has been suspended they added In Hamirpur 30 people who were stranded following a flash flood evacuated safely they saidChief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said the administration is carrying out rescue operations on a war footing in affected districts The HP Public Works Department PWD chief engineer said 743 roads including the ManaliChandigarh highway at Mandi and ShimlaChandigarh highway at Shoghi were closed due to unprecedented rainfallStones are still falling and traffic has been diverted via the ShoghiMehli bypass they added Meanwhile water and power supply have been hit in several parts of the state State Chief Secretary R D Dhiman directed the departments concerned to clear roads so that the supply of basic needs is not disruptedThe principal secretary revenue told the chief secretary that Rs 23231 crore has been released to the districts from the State Disaster Response Fund to carry out the relief and rehabilitation workCloudburst in Dehradun swollen rivers wash away bridgesA cloudburst hit a village in Dehradun in the early hours of Saturday causing rivers to breach their banks and wash away bridges officials said Water also entered the caves of Tapkeshwar a famous Shiva temple on the banks of the Tons river The cloudburst occurred around 215 am in Sarkhet village in the Raipur area A bridge over the Song river near Thano was washed away The Kempty Falls a popular tourist spot near Mussoorie was also flowing dangerouslyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever