Himachal CM conducts aerial survey of flash flood affected areas in Kangra, toll reaches 11

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh is yet to come in terms with massive tragedy at Dharamshala caused by flash floods following cloudburst and also heavy rains in the Kangra valley, one of the lower Himachal Pradesh belt, which till now has been struggling with drought and Covid crisis.

The toll has been put at 11 even as there were eight persons missing and five others saved by the NDRF and locals in a joint operation.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday took an aerial survey of the flash flood affected area Boh of Shahpur Assembly constituency of Kangra district.

He took stock of the losses suffered due to flash floods and also met the affected families of the area. He directed the district Kangra administration to take up the relief and rehabilitation work on war-footing in the affected areas.

Thakur said that every possible assistance would be provided to the affected families and their proper rehabilitation would also be ensured. He said that Rs four lakh each would be provided to the families of the deceased and financial help would be given to the people whose houses had been damaged in this natural calamity for construction of houses.

The Chief Minister said that a team of NDRF was coordinating the district administration in rescue and relief works and all-out efforts were being made to trace the missing persons.

He also talked telephonically to DC Sirmaur Ram Gautam and enquired about the efforts being made by the NDRF and district administration to rescue the persons who got stranded on the island in Giri river in Paonta Sahib sub-division of Sirmaur district on Monday.

Meanwhile, the state government has issued an advisory to the travel agents and tourists to put off their travel plans on hold for now, at least until the rain goes away. "People are requested to postpone their travel plans to Dharamshala to avoid any inconvenience," the Deputy Commissioner of Kangra posted on their official Twitter account.

"Tourists who are already in Dharamshala are requested to stay put as heavy rains have damaged the roads, impacting the movement of traffic," Dr Nipun Jindal added.

Meanwhile, the traffic on Chandigarh Manali highway which got disrupted was restored early morning to enable the tourists stranded at Kullu Manali to return but later in the day it again got blocked.

Massive losses have been reported at Mcleodganj–a town popular for Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama due to massive flash floods and collapse of the buildings and hotels.