Monsoon rain is still devastating the state of Himachal Pradesh, and most of the road networks, water supply systems, and power systems have been damaged heavily. On Saturday, the officials said 249 roads have been closed to vehicle movement, and the most damaged was the Mandi district, where 207 roads were blocked by landslides and debris flow.
After the heavy rainfalls, the Mandi Dharampur route (via Kotli) on National Highway 3 has been closed to the movement of heavy vehicles. Also, the very strategic clinch at Mandi-Kullu with Chandigarh-Manali highway remained impassable throughout almost 10 hours following landslides at Kainchi Mor along the Pandoh dam late on Friday night. Debris was finally cleared and traffic restored on a one-way basis. This diversion of vehicles via Katola- Kamand resulted in massive inconvenience and delays experienced by the commuters.
The monsoon season, since June 20 up to now, has led to the state losing 751 crore in estimations. In the defunct schemes under water supply 781, power distribution (transformers) 463 have been affected in areas where vital services are provided, including the state and the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC).
The volume of rain has remained a concern, with Murari Devi having 126 mm since Friday evening. Others hit by this rain are Pandoh (79 mm), Slapper (67.7 mm), Kothi (60.4 mm), and Mandi (53.2 mm). There were also thunderstorms and gusty winds that experienced up to 48km/h speed over areas such as Sundernagar, Bhuntar, and Kangra.
The Himachal weather department has provided a yellow alert of heavy rain in four to ten out of the 12 districts of the state, which are inside effect till July 18.
A total of 92 deaths occurred since the advent of the monsoon, whereas 56 people were victims of rain-related issues, and 36 were those who died as a result of road accidents. The missing people have been at least 33, whose search is still continuing, particularly in Mandi, where several cloudbursts and landslides have caused destruction.
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