Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], August 29 (ANI): Heavy monsoon rains continue to batter Himachal Pradesh, disrupting essential infrastructure and causing widespread hardship. According to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), as of Friday morning, 633 roads, including two national highways, remain blocked, 1,333 electricity distribution transformers (DTRs) are out of service, and 524 water supply schemes stand disrupted across the state.
The ongoing monsoon season since June 20 has claimed 312 lives, with 160 deaths due to rain-related incidents — including landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, drowning, and electrocution — and 152 in road accidents, the SDMA said.
Mandi, Kullu, and Kangra districts are among the worst affected in terms of road blockages. Mandi alone reported 241 roads closed, including one national highway, while Kullu has 166 blocked roads, two of which are national highways (NH-03 and NH-305). Kangra reported 65 roads blocked. In Lahaul-Spiti, 21 roads are closed, while Shimla district reported 31.
In the power sector, Mandi leads with 681 disrupted transformers, followed by Kullu with 191 and Kangra with 266. Water supply schemes have also been hit hard, with Mandi district reporting 72 schemes disrupted, Kullu 88, and Shimla 35.
The SDMA has cautioned that continued heavy rainfall is likely to cause further landslides and flash floods, hampering restoration efforts. Field teams from the PWD, electricity, and water supply departments are working to restore services, but accessibility remains a major challenge in several remote and tribal areas.
Meanwhile, the rain has also caused trouble for vegetable suppliers and distributors in the state, after the Aleo-Manali National Highway was damaged.
The disruption has significantly impacted the supply of vegetables from Punjab.
Vegetable distributor Ashish Sharma said that they are incurring a higher cost of labour for transporting the vegetables and earning no profits.
He urged the administration to expedite road restoration work.
Ashish Sharma told ANI, “The road was blocked after the floods on August 26, and we are facing trouble with transportation. We had to transport it on foot on August 28 and had to pay Rs 200 per item to the labourers, due to which the vegetables are costing us a lot. We urge the administration to begin the route as soon as possible.”
He said that they cannot sell the vegetables at higher prices due to the orders by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate.”We cannot sell vegetables at higher prices as per the orders by the SDM, and selling at high prices is not good in times of disasters. Our profit is zero, but the public should get the supplies. We are afraid…it is being told that it will rain for the next two to three days,” he said.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert in Kullu, predicting 5-15 mm of rainfall per hour till 12 noon today, while an orange alert has been issued in the adjacent district of Kangra.
The IMD has predicted rainfall in Himachal Pradesh for the next six days. (ANI)
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HINDI, MARATHI, GUJARATI, TAMIL, TELUGU, BENGALI, KANNADA, ORIYA, PUNJABI, URDU, MALAYALAM
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