Torrential rains in HP; Alert in Kinnuar and Shimla districts

Shimla, July 9: A general alert has been sounded in Kinnaur and Shimla districts of Himachal Pradesh following sudden rise in water level in Sutlej, Spiti and Baspa rivers and their tributaries due to heavy rains, while torrential rains badly disrupted normal life in several parts of the state during the last 24 hrs, official sources said.

Cloudburst in Manglar Khud and Ralang Khud in Shimla and Kinnaur district caused flash floods but there was no loss of life or property as there were no habitations in the areas swept by swirling water.

Sources said the Karchham-Sangla road was breached at two places due to landslides and Sangla, Chitkul and other areas were cut off from rest of the area.

The water level in Sutlej was rising, forcing the Kinnaur district administration to caution people and the hydro power project authorities that water was likely to rise by another 15 to 20 feet in next 24 hours due to increase in discharge of water in major rivers, rivulets and 'nallahs'.

The discharge of water in Baspa river was 110 cumecs against normal discharge of 50 to 60 cumecs, while water discharge in Sutlej was 1200 cumecs at Nathpa and 1500 cumecs at Rampur, while the discharge in Spiti River was about 400 cumecs against a normal discharge of 150 to 170 cumecs, the sources added.

Monsoon remained active in most parts of the state and torrential rains triggered landslides at numerous places, houses were damaged in some areas and all the rivers and their tributaries were in spate in low-lying areas of Kangra, Hamirpur and Mandi districts. The sources said Chamba-tiossa road was blocked at Rajpura as 100-mt stretch of the road was washed away due to rains, while 12 sheeps were washed away in a village close to Jaisinghpur in Kangra district.

However, 54 sheep were rescued, the sources said, adding that the Dharamshala-Mcleodganj road also remained closed for few hours due to heavy rains and traffic was disrupted at Bathu Bridge in Kangra and while water was overflowing the Jaho bridge in Hamirpur district.

About two dozen houses were damaged or had developed cracks in Mewa and Bamsan area of Hamirpur district and a tower of a telecom company at Awahadevi was likely to give way due to heavy landslides in the area.

The Beas River and Suketi Khud were in spate in Sundernagar area a large portion of Kasmala village had sunk, causing damage to ten houses, reports reaching here said.

UNI