HP: Orange alert issued for three districts; 266 roads closed

Shimla: As heavy rains continued to lash Himachal Pradesh on Monday, the meteorological department has issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy precipitation at isolated places in three districts, namely Una, Bilaspur and Kangra the next day.

According to officials, 266 roads, including the Aut to Sainj National Highway 305, were closed for vehicular movement on Monday. A landslide at Panthaghati in the suburbs of Shimla city obstructed traffic on Mehli-Shogi bypass on Sunday night, with debris blocking the road and stones damaging some shops nearby, residents said.

Since Sunday evening, Kasauli received 82 mm of rainfall, followed by Naina Devi (62.6 mm), Jogindernagar (60 mm), Brahmani (49.2 mm), Manali (45.2 mm), Shimla (36.8 mm), Guler (29 mm), Mandi (27.2 mm), Pandoh (27 mm), Karsog (26.2 mm) and Sarahan (25.5 mm), according to the Met office.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), out of the 266 roads closed on Monday, 155 are in Mandi district, which was recently battered by cloudbursts, landslides and flash floods. Sixty eight of the blocked roads are in Kullu district.

Since the onset of monsoon on June 20, the state has incurred losses totalling Rs 1,714 crore till date; around 106 people have died in rain-related incidents while 36 are missing.

Additionally, 41 power distribution transformers and 282 water supply schemes have been affected, the SEOC added.