Himachal Pradesh cloudburst: Rescue efforts underway to trace 45 missing

Shimla: Rescue operations were underway on Friday to trace over 45 people missing following flash floods triggered by cloudbursts in three districts of Himachal Pradesh, while 33 people stranded at the site of a power project in the state were brought to safety, officials said. Cloudbursts in Nirmand, Sainj and Malana areas in Kullu, Padhar in Mandi and Rampur in Shimla districts on Wednesday had left five people dead and over 45 missing.

Thirty-three people were also stuck in Malana II power project in Manikaran area of Kullu district out of which 29 were rescued on Thursday night and the remaining four on Friday morning, Deputy Commissioner, Kullu, Torul S Raveesh, said. A wall and way to a tunnel was damaged due to rains and water entered the barrage but the teams of the NDRF and home guard managed to rescue the people.

Talking to reporters outside Parliament in the national capital, BJP MP from Mandi Lok Sabha seat Kangana Ranaut expressed anguish over the loss of lives in the cloudburst incidents, and said life of people in the tough terrain is difficult and such disasters are adding to their pain every year.

"The prime minister and home minister have assured that relief would be given to the state. I am also going to different ministries in New Delhi to get help for Himachal and would visit the state soon," she added.

Personnel of the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police, State Disaster Response Force, police and home guards are involved in the rescue operations and the help of drones is being taken to locate the missing persons, officials added.

The maximum damage was caused in Samej area of Rampur subdivision of Shimla district as a cloudburst near Shrikhand Mahadev route on Wednesday night triggered flash floods in Sarpara, Ganvi and Kurban nallahs. The cloudburst affected both Shimla and Kullu districts.

Three people are missing and 15 families are affected, DC, Kullu, who reached Samej (Kullu side), said. Government primary and secondary schools where about 100 students were studying have been damaged and arrangements are being made to run the school at another location, she added.

Due to flash floods triggered by cloudburst, the water in Samej Khud in Shimla district's Rampur rose, leaving two people dead and about 30 missing, Shimla Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi had told PTI.

Mutilated body parts of two persons were recovered on Thursday, he added. "We have to search in about a 100-km area, some of which is inaccessible, and drones are being used to locate the missing people," Gandhi had told PTI on Thursday.

Nali Ram, a senior citizen who along with his family members managed to escape the flash floods, said, "I heard the sound of gushing waters and came out of my house only to find the area around flooded". The swelling of Samej Khud resulted in havoc in Shimla and Kullu districts.

"My father-in-law, who was working on a project, has been missing since last night and I along with other relatives came here in search of him," another local Neel Dutt said.

According to reports, over 20 houses, six shops, four main and two foot bridges were washed after the cloudburst in the state and road connectivity has been hampered in the affected areas.

So far since the onset of monsoon on June 27, 73 people have died in rain-related incidents and the state has also suffered losses to the tune of Rs 649 crore, according to the state's Emergency Operation Centre.