Incessant rains have caused a flood-like situation in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi. Mandi Municipal Commissioner Rohit Rathour said that early morning rains have caused a lot of damage. As many as 3 persons have lost their lives in rain-related incidents so far. One person has also gone missing due to adverse weather conditions.
"Due to heavy rain around 4 am, there have been reports of a lot of damage. Heavy debris has flown into the canals from the top. Rescue work is underway in the area," he said to ANI.
Himachal Pradesh Assembly LoP Jairam Thakur reached the flood affected area and took stock of the rescue operation.
"Since last night, it has been raining heavily in Mandi. We received information about the massive damage in the region. Till now, we have known that 3 bodies have been recovered and one person is missing. The NDRF teams are conducting the rescue operation...Such massive damage has never happened in this region. It is a matter of concern. It is still raining, so I appeal to everyone to follow all the precautions," said.
Road connectivity severely hit across Himachal
Even after 26 days since flash floods hit Mandi district, road connectivity remains disrupted, with 130 roads still blocked. The State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) reported that the Seraj area is the worst affected, where 81 roads are still closed. In other regions, 20 roads remain shut in Thalout, 11 in Dharampur, and 10 in the Karsog sub-division. The flash floods struck on the night between June 30 and July 1, causing extensive damage.
Across Himachal Pradesh, a total of 197 roads were still blocked as of Sunday. Power supply has also been affected, with 75 transformers yet to be restored. Kullu district has the highest number of non-functional transformers at 47, followed by 24 in Mandi and 4 in Kangra, according to the SEOC.
Himachal rain havoc
This monsoon has brought devastation for Himachal Pradesh, with relentless rainfall causing flash floods and landslides. The overall death toll in the state has climbed to 135—of these, 76 fatalities are linked to rain-induced disasters like landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts and electrocutions, while 59 deaths have resulted from road accidents.
BJP delegation seeks Centre’s help
A delegation of BJP leaders, which included JP Nadda, Anurag Thakur and former CM Jai Ram Thakur met Union Misters, Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari, seeing government’s assistance in rebuilding infrastructure lost in flood and other rain-related incidents.
