Heavy rains lash several parts of Himachal Pradesh, 115 roads closed

Shimla/Mandi, Jul 4 (PTI) Heavy rains lashed several parts of Himachal Pradesh, leading to the closure of 115 roads for vehicular traffic.

The Shimla meteorological office Thursday issued an orange alert, warning of heavy to very heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning at isolated places till Friday.

As many as 115 roads including 107 in Mandi, four in Chamba, three in Solan and one in Kangra district are closed for vehicular traffic following rains and 212 transformers are disrupted in the state as per the state emergency operation centre.

Meanwhile, cracks have developed at a stretch between Mandi to Pandoh of the Chandigarh-Manali four-lane road and it has started sinking, forcing officials to allow only one-way traffic since Wednesday, officials said.

Locals say a retaining wall was constructed by spending lakhs of rupees but it has started sinking and has gone down by about two feet and questions are being raised on the quality of construction.

The tarring work is going at the spot at war footing, said Project manager Raj Shekar.

The MeT which also issued yellow warning of heavy rains on Saturday and Sunday (July 6 and 7) cautioned of damage to plantation, horticulture and standing crops, partial damage to vulnerable structures, minor damage to kutcha houses and huts due to strong winds and rain, disruption in traffic and waterlogging in low-lying areas.

Several trees were uprooted in state capital Shimla which has received 84 mm rain since Wednesday evening and debris from drains was littered on the roads.

Widespread rain occurred in the state. Sundernagar was the wettest with 111 mm of rain followed by Palampur 109.4 mm, Shimla 84 mm, Gohar 80 mm, Solan 79.8 mm, Mashobra 78.5 mm, Jogindernagar 75 mm, Baijnath 70 mm, Mandi 55.2 mm, Narkanda 48 mm and Kangra 44.2 mm.

Narkanda in Shimla district was coldest at night recording a minimum temperature of 13.4 degree Celsius while Bhuntar in Kullu was hottest during the day on Wednesday with a maximum temperature at 35.6 degree Celsius. PTI