Jammu/Shimla: Landslides and torrential rains wreaked havoc in parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, leaving four people, including a 5-year-old, dead and several injured on Monday.
In the Reasi district of J&K, a 70-year-old pilgrim was killed and nine others were injured when a massive landslide struck the old track to the Vaishno Devi shrine.
Officials said a booking office and an overhead iron structure caved in under the weight of the landslide, triggered by heavy rains that lashed Katra town, the base camp for pilgrims visiting the shrine atop Trikuta hills.
According to the meteorological department, Katra town recorded 184.2 mm of rainfall over the past 24 hours ending at 8:30 am on Monday.
A landslide triggered by heavy overnight rain in J&K’s Poonch district hit a government school, claiming the life of a student and injuring five people. Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed grief over the loss of life.
Another landslide had blocked the new track near Himkoti Sunday night, and efforts are ongoing to restore it.
A police officer was injured after his car was hit by a landslide in Jammu.
In Himachal Pradesh, a newly married couple in Chamba district was killed after a boulder fell on top of a house in Sutanh village.
Normal life was disrupted as heavy rainfall triggered landslides, blocked 401 roads, and forced the closure of educational institutions.
The state’s meteorological department has issued a ‘red’ alert for very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in five of the 12 districts of the state, including Shimla, Kangra, Chamba, Sirmaur, and Mandi.
Authorities announced on Monday morning that schools in several subdivisions across four districts would remain closed due to landslides and road blockages following heavy rains. Educational institutions were closed in Theog, Rohru, Jubbal, Chopal, and Kumarsain in Shimla district; Thunag and Karsog in Mandi district; Ani in Kullu district; and Shillai in Sirmaur district.
Of the 401 affected roads, 242 are in disaster-hit Mandi district. Since the onset of the monsoon on June 20, 72 people have died and 34 have gone missing in rain-related incidents across the state. Himachal Pradesh has also experienced 34 flash floods, 22 cloudbursts, and 21 landslides this monsoon season, resulting in losses of approximately Rs 1,235 crore, the department said.
In Delhi, rainfall was reported in a few areas, with the IMD warning of light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning in isolated parts of the national capital during the night. In West Bengal, the IMD predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in some districts of south Bengal from July 23 to 27, owing to the likely formation of a low-pressure area over the north Bay of Bengal on July 24.