Himachal Pradesh was on Wednesday lashed by heavy rain that caused devastation in a number of places. Two women were buried alive at Sangraha in Sirmaur in the wee hours on Wednesday when boulders crashed into their house. The families of the two women — Kanso Devi (49) and Seema (17) — were given immediate relief by the SDM of Sangraha.
The Rajgarh-Solan highway has been blocked at Ratoli due to landslips and traffic has come to a halt despite the best efforts by the State PWD personnel. The village farms beyond this road are the major source of vegetables to the capital and other places in Solan, Shimla and Sirmaur districts.
A massive tree fell on the terrace of a hotel in Shimla but didn’t result in any loss of life.
Many retaining walls also collapsed in the suburbs of the town, resulting in huge losses. Water and electricity supply to the main town has been disrupted.
Rivulets overflowingAll rivulets and small streams are overflowing in the State for the past two days now. The administration has warned people to stay away from such streams. Seven workers of a private hydro company were caught in an overflowing stream at Shala Khad on the Rohtang Highway on Wednesday morning and were rescued by the fire brigade.
There are also reports of heavy rains in Kangra, which has resulted in a big loss to the standing kharif crops. The lush green maize fields have been washed away in a number of places.
Flights suspendedAll services of Air India have been suspended in Kullu due to the rains, informed the air station manager at Bhuntar.
Various roads including the national highway to Kullu-Manali remain blocked at places and the tourist traffic to the hill resorts has slowed down.
