CHANDIGARH: Multiple cloudbursts overnight in Himachal Pradesh’s capital Shimla, Kullu and Mandi districts not only killed four people but also led to the disappearance of at least 50 people. Manali is cut off from the rest of the country while the state government has put the Army and Air Force on standby.According to the state emergency operation centre, the cloudbursts took place in Nirmand, Sainj and Malana areas in Kullu, Padhar in Mandi and Rampur in Shimla districts. More than a dozen houses were washed away and two bridges were damaged as incessant rains swelled up the Parvati river at Sainj. The flash flood has damaged the highway at Malana. Earthmoving equipment were washed away near a hydro project Jhakri in Rampur in Shimla district.The partially washed-away Manali-Chandigarh highway is seen alongside a swollen Beas River at Manali, following a recent cloudburst in Kullu district, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024The worst hit is the Malana-II power project. Amid a sharp rise in the dam’s water level, people have been advised to stay away from the river and nearby areas.While rescue operations began gingerly, parts of the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway were washed away at many points. A building collapsed at Sabji Mandi in Manikaran in the raging Parvati in Kullu.Fed by heavy rains, the swollen Beas threatens Kullu forcing closure of Shimla-Junga road following reports of vehicles being buried in debris in Rajnagar in Churah assembly constituency in Chamba.Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said: “At least 50 people are missing and two are dead in an early morning cloudburst in Kullu, Shimla and Mandi districts. Around 35 people are missing in Rampur in Shimla, 9 in Mandi and one is Kullu.”High alert in Kedar valleySwollen rivers have crossed danger marks at several places, prompting the government to sound a high alert in the Kedar valley, and suspend the Kedarnath Yatra. Rescue efforts are underway to evacuate pilgrims stranded along the Char Dham routes, with helicopters being used in the operation. Sources said that since Thursday morning, SDRF and other relief teams have shifted 320 Char Dham pilgrims to safe locations.
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