A newlywed couple was killed when a boulder hit their house in Chamba district early on Monday, while normal life was thrown out of gear in Himachal Pradesh as heavy rainfall led to landslides blocking 398 roads, forcing the closure of educational institutions in some parts of the state, officials said.
Chamba deputy commissioner Mukesh Repaswal said a landslide hit two houses at Chari panchayat of Chamba between 3 and 4 am. “We have recovered the bodies,” he said.
A massive boulder crashed into the house where the couple was asleep, causing it to collapse. They had got married only a few months ago and were visiting the woman’s parental house at Chari when the incident occurred.
The woman had arrived a few days ago, while her husband joined her only a day before the incident. The couple was in a newly constructed house adjacent to the main family house when the incident happened.
398 roads blocked in Himachal
As many as 398 roads, including 242 in Mandi district, remain blocked in Himachal Pradesh on Monday due to landslides triggered by heavy rain.
The Mandi-Kullu stretch of the Chandigarh-Manali national highway was blocked at multiple locations including at Dwada to Jalogi, Banala and near Kainchi Mod. Mandi-Pathankot National Highway (NH-154) also remained closed.
In Sirmaur, National Highway (NH) 707 is blocked near Uttari due to falling debris. In Chamba, landslides blocked the Chamba-Tissa road at Nakrod and Pangola, while the Nakrod-Thalli Road was cut off after a flooded stream swept away a small bridge.
Due to continuous rainfall, schools remained closed in several parts of the state on Monday, including Thunag sub-division in Mandi, Tissa subdivision in Chamba besides Kumarsain, Theog, Rohru, Jubbal, and Chopal in Shimla district.
A tree was uprooted due to continuous rainfall near Sanjauli on the outskirts of Shimla, causing vehicles to get damaged and traffic getting disrupted. The forest department team is clearing the area, but persistent rain continues to hamper operations.
Monsoon has wreaked havoc in Himachal Pradesh this monsoon with Mandi district being the worst-hit. So far, 15 people have been killed in Mandi after recent cloudburst and flashflood incidents, while 27 remain missing. Since the onset of monsoon on June 20, 132 people have lost lives in Himachal Pradesh.
Orange alert in Kangra, Chamba for today
While a few places received heavy rainfall, very heavy rainfall was observed at isolated places during the last 24 hours. Continuous showers prompted the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Shimla office to sound a red alert in some districts on Monday.
The weather office has issued an orange alert of heavy to very heavy rainfall again on July 22 in Chamba and Kangra districts, while a yellow alert has been sounded in Una, Mandi and Sirmaur districts.
According to MeT department officials, light to moderate rainfall is very likely at most places from till July 23 and at many places from July 24 to 27. Moreover, one or two spells of heavy rain are expected at isolated places from July 23 to 27 and one or two spells of heavy to very heavy rainfall are expected at isolated places on July 22.
During the last 24 hours, the highest rainfall of 15 cm was recorded in Kangra Aero, followed by Nagrota Surian (13 cm), Sandhole (12 cm), Chuari (12 cm), Mandi (11 cm), Ghumarwin (11 cm), Jogindarnagar (10 cm), Pandoh (9 cm), Pachhad (9 cm), Bijahi (8 cm), Sundarnagar (7 cm), Guler (7 cm), Palampur (7 cm), Bharari (6 cm), Gohar (6 cm), Bilaspur Sadar (6 cm), Naina Davi (5 cm), Solan (5 cm), Nadaun (5 cm), Rampur Bushar (5 cm), Paonta (5 cm), Simla (5 cm), Sarahan (4 cm), Kandaghat (4 cm), Kasauli (3 cm), Dharmshala (3 cm), Una (2 cm) and Kothi (2 cm).