MANALI: Incessant rain, which has led to flash floods and landslides, has caused significant damage in Himachal Pradesh’s Manali.
Himachal Pradesh Minister Jagat Singh Negi said that the flash floods have damaged the national highway and disrupted water and electricity supply.
“The Manali Vidhansabha constituency has suffered significant damage due to flash floods. Houses, land and gardens have been destroyed, and the national highway is damaged due to flash floods. The link road adjacent to the bridge is also badly damaged. There is no net connectivity, electricity and water. We have made arrangements to provide food to the stranded tourists”, Negi said.
Due to incessant rainfall in the region, many tourists have been stranded in Manali. Internet services and electricity supply have been disrupted due to the flood in the area.
Neha, a tourist from, Ludhiana, Punjab said, “We want to go home. We were scheduled to return on Sunday, but we are stuck due to flood”.
Another tourist, Sanjeev Arora, said they have been trying to go back for the past two days. “We are here in Manali since July 5. The main track is damaged. We have been trying to go back for the past two days. Internet services and electricity supply is also disrupted”, he added.
Meanwhile, the Himachal Chief Minister’s Office informed that 2,000 people stranded in the Kasol area have been evacuated so far. “So far, 2,000 people stranded in the Kasol area of Kullu district have been evacuated. On the way at one point named Dunkhara, there is a heavy landslide and one excavator and two machines have been deployed round the clock to clear the Kasol-Bhuntar road. A team of the district administration has reached Kasol. More than 2,200 vehicles have passed through Kullu from Manali so far and food is being distributed to them at Ramshilla Chowk. CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is closely monitoring the situation”, the CMO statement said.
Speaking on the relief and rescue operations being conducted in the state amidst heavy rainfall, acting DGP of Himachal Pradesh, Satwant Atwal Trivedi, said that evacuation procedure is under way with 1,000 vehicles already having left from Kullu-Manali and are enroute to Chandigarh.
The Nurpur police on Wednesday informed that water will be released from Pandoh Dam (Mandi) from 6 pm today to 3 pm tomorrow due to incessant rains in the district. “People are urged not to go near low-lying areas like rivers, drains and dam areas for the next few days”, the Nurpur Police said.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Manali Bhuvneshwar Gaur hit out at the state government over the poor construction of the highways which were washed away during the flash floods. (ANI)