CM Sukhu conducts aerial survey of flood-hit areas, HP govt tries to restore road transport, power supply

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 11 (ANI): Following excessive rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu conducted an aerial survey of affected areas and said the government is working hard to restore road transport and power supply.
CM Sukhu said, "I have conducted an aerial survey and decided to send officials to the flood-affected areas."
He told them that six helicopters had been deployed to carry out rescue operations and evacuate the stranded tourists and local residents. The first helicopter sortie took off in the morning to rescue stranded people at Chandertal but had to return back due to adverse weather conditions. However, the authorities were prioritizing the evacuation of the elderly and sick from Chandertal and the teams have left for the site.
"We are sending helicopters with satellite phones along with 4 police personnel will be sent. The incessant rains disrupted communication facilities, power supply, water supply and road connectivity in the entire Kullu district. The loss is immense and every possible help will be provided to the affected persons by the state government,” he said.
He also interacted with the people who suffered losses due to floods and expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and assured that every possible assistance would be provided by the State Government and immediately announced a relief of rupees one crore for the area.
"All the locals and tourists who were in this area are safe. The government is working hard to restore road transport and power supply. Around 27 people have died in the state and in Kullu around 4 people have died," he added.
"We had discussions with PM Modi, BJP president JP Nadda, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi regarding this. We are going to start evacuation at several places in the state. Alternative routes will be prepared for the roads that are completely damaged. The floods have caused severe damage to the state. Our attempt is to restore electricity and provide fresh water at the earliest," he added.
Meanwhile, CM Sukhu also declared a sum of Rs 1 crore as an immediate relief to the affected people of Sainj. He said that food and lodging facilities will be provided to the affected families of Sainj in temporary camps at safe places in the area.
"Partial connectivity along Manali to Chandigarh highway has been restored and over 2,500 vehicles of stranded tourists have been released today from Kullu and Manali via Aut. I am personally stationed in Kullu tonight to oversee evacuation and restoration operations," CM Sukhu tweeted.
He also interacted with the people at Bhuntar severely hit by the disaster and assured them of all-out support in this need of hour.
Meanwhile, Shimla is facing drinking water scarcity. Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Ltd (SJPNL) supplies water to people through tankers.
"There has been a lot of loss to the state because of the disaster. Be it the water schemes, roads or the dams...In Shimla, we have hired private tankers and Nagar Nigam's tankers are also providing water. With the use of tankers we are trying to reach as many places as possible," said Surender Chauhan, Mayor, Shimla Municipal Corporation on drinking water scarcity.
Shimla Mayor Surender Chauhan told ANI, "The localities in Shimla have narrow roads and therefore we are sending small tankers of water to those places as well," he said.
Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Mukesh Agnihotri also reached Mandi in Himachal where he took stock of the relief camps.
Deputy Chief Minister reached the Sadar Vyas Relief Camp where arrangements have been made to accommodate 200 to 300 people. Here the Deputy Chief Minister interacted with the people and inquired about the difficulties they were facing and assured them that all necessary assistance would be provided to them soon.
The Deputy Chief Minister said that these are the people whose houses have been affected by the floods. Every possible help is being given to these people from our side and from the side of the administration, government assistance will also be announced, and we appeal to the centre for help.
"Consultations and discussions are underway. I feel in the next 24 hrs we will be able to move forward...We are checking the conditions of the buses here...Kullu is the worst hit and all routes have been suspended...We have rescued those stranded at various locations...," he said.
Acting DGP of Himachal Pradesh Satwant Atwal Trivedi spoke on the relief and rescue operations being conducted in the state amidst heavy rainfall.
"The team is deployed everywhere in the state. We are continuously working to ensure the safety of the people. We have set up four lines and trying to contact people across the country to inform them about their families. 200 people have been contacted since morning and their family has been informed about their well-being. We are also contacting the embassies," she added.
"We received info from the Russian Embassy that 15 Russian tourists are stranded in Kasol. We are trying to establish contact and once we will be able to contact the tourists we will inform the Embassy about their well-being," he said.
Moreover, the India Meteorological Department (IMD), on Tuesday, issued "red" and "orange" alerts for several districts of the hill state for the next 24 hours.
"A red alert has been issued for very heavy rainfall in Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur, Kullu, Mandi, Kinnaur, and Lahaul for the next 24 hours. Additionally, an orange alert has been issued in Una, Hamirpur, Kangra, and Chamba. A flash flood warning has been issued for Mandi, Kinnaur, and Lahaul-Spiti for the next 24 hours," said senior IMD Scientist Sandeep Kumar Sharma.
According to IMD, extremely heavy rainfall activity is likely to continue over Uttarakhand and adjoining West Uttar Pradesh today and reduce thereafter. There will be significant reduction in rainfall over Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana and Chandigarh from today, July 11, 2023.
In the span of 24 hours Himachal Pradesh received rain as follows: Nahan (dist Sirmaur) 25 mm, Jatton Barrage (dist Sirmaur) 24 mm, Kasauli (dist Solan) 20 mm, Naina Davi (dist Bilaspur) 19 mm, Rohru (dist Shimla) 15 mm, Gohar (dist Mandi) 12mm, Kandaghat (dist Solan) 12 mm, Rajgarh (dist Sirmaur) 12 mm, IMD stated.
Earlier Chandigarh-Manali national highway closed following a landslide near the six-mile area in Mandi.
According to Himachal Pradesh Police tweet, "Road to Kullu via Kataula-Kamand is through for LMVs. 2. Traffic coming from Kullu via the four-lane NH towards Mandi is being diverted from Pandoh to the Gohar-Chailchowk-Baggi-Sundernagar link road as the road between Pandoh to Mandi is closed."
Henceforth, approximately 400 vehicles have left Manali safely and soon the vehicle numbers will be released.
As per the data of the Disaster Management Authority so far till date, a total of over 1000 roads were closed, nearly 2,000 electricity schemes were affected and 1,200 water supply schemes were also hampered in the state due to rain.
Moreover, the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Competitive (Preliminary) Examination has been postponed to August 20 owing to incessant rainfall in the state which has led to damage of roads.
Earlier the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Competitive (Preliminary) Examination was scheduled on July 23. (ANI)