HP:Heavy rains strand pilgrims in Chamba; rescue and restoration active

Shimla: Thousands of devotees undertaking the Manimahesh yatra, which was suspended on Monday due to inclement weather, are stranded in many places in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba due to rain-damaged roads, according to local MLAs.

The relatives and friends of devotees are worried about the safety of their loved ones as mobile connectivity has been snapped in a majority of the Chamba district following heavy rains in the past few days, they said.

The state government said in the Assembly on Wednesday that steps are being taken to evacuate the pilgrims.

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The Manimahesh Yatra starts on August 17 and concludes on September 15. According to MLA Chamba Neeraj Nayyar, thousands of pilgrims are stranded in Chamba, Bharmaur, Saloni and other parts of the district as the roads are damaged. Hans Raj, the MLA of Churah, put the number of pilgrims at around 10,000.

“We are receiving calls from various states about the safety of pilgrims,” MLA Bharmaur Janak Raj told the PTI on Wednesday.

“The relatives are worried about the whereabouts of the family members as there is no mobile connectivity in Chamba district following rains and I have spoken to the heads of mobile companies who have assured that the services would be resumed by Wednesday,” he said.

The Chamba-Bharmour-Hadsarroute to Manimahesh Lake is the common and established route which requires a 13 km trek from Hadsar to Manimahesh with a night halt at Dhancho. There are other routes to Manimahesh from Lahaul-Spiti and Kangra and Mandi districts.

The priority of the Himachal Pradesh government is to safely evacuate the pilgrims stranded en route to Manimahesh and restore mobile services in Chamba district, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi told the Assembly on Wednesday.

Heavy rains, landslides, flash floods and cloudbursts on Tuesday wreaked havoc in parts of Himachal and the overflowing Beas River left a trail of destruction in Manali while mobile connectivity was snapped in the majority of Chamba district and Manali, reports reaching here said.

“Shops were washed away, buildings collapsed, highways were cut off, and damage was caused to agricultural lands,” said Avtar Chand, a local in Manali.

Parts of Manali were without electricity. The Chandigarh-Manali National Highway was blocked at several places and the commuters had a harrowing time as they were stranded for hours.

Ashok Chauhan, Regional Engineer Kullu-Manali (National Highway Authority of India), said that the NH has been damaged at many places between Manali and Kullu due to heavy currents of the Beas River and restoration work is going on.

“Houses have been damaged in the Ramsheela area near Kullu town and the administration should take remedial measures. Otherwise, the place would become a history in the coming monsoons,” said a resident of Kullu, Jai Bhal.

“Connectivity to Manali from the right bank has been disrupted. So far, four shops, two restaurants and one house have been damaged since Monday,” said Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) Manali Raman Sharma.

On Wednesday, a house in Manjhed village in Naina Devi assembly constituency of Bilaspur district collapsed following rains. However, no casualty was reported as the family had left the house before the collapse.

Chamba received 51 mm of rain since Tuesday evening, followed by Dharamshala 40.4 mm, Jot 38 mm, Naina Devi 26.8 mm, Palampur 22.4 mm, Kangra 21.6 mm, Bilaspur 20.4 mm and Amb 20 mm.

A total of 584 roads were closed in ten out of 12 districts of Himachal Pradesh and reports from Chamba and Lahaul and Spiti districts have not been received, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.

Of the roads closed, 259 are in Mandi district and 167 in Kullu. Around 1155 power supply transformers and 346 water supply schemes were disrupted, the SEOC said.

The local meteorological office has issued a yellow alert for heavy rains in isolated areas in three to six districts of the state till Sunday.

Between June 20 and August 26, at least 158 people have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh, while 38 have gone missing, according to the SEOC.

The state has witnessed 90 flash floods, 42 cloudbursts and 85 major landslides so far. It has incurred losses to the tune of Rs 2,623 crore in rain-related incidents, the SEOC data showed.

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