Rescue operation resumes in Himachal to trace 49

Shimla, Aug 2: Rescuers on Friday resumed the search operation in Himachal Pradesh on the second day to trace 49 people who went missing after cloudbursts and heavy rain triggered massive landslides and flash floods.

Torrential rain has caused severe flooding, washing away six bridges, 20 houses and six shops, resulting in four deaths so far. The death toll could rise as survival of the missing people after more than 36 hours of disaster is getting dim.

The maximum damage was reported in Shimla district where a flash flood swept away 33 people and 20 houses in Samej village located near a hydropower project in Jhakri in Rampur tehsil, leaving the entire area totally ravaged. The village is located on the border of Kullu district.

A spokesperson for the state government told IANS that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu would be visiting the Rampur area by road to take stock of the damage caused by cloudburst.

He said the Chief Minister could not fly to the disaster-hit areas on Thursday owing to bad weather. “This morning also the weather did not allow the Chief Minister’s helicopter to take a flight from Shimla. So he has decided to travel to Rampur by road,” he added.

Shimla Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap, who has been monitoring the rescue operation at the spot, told IANS over the phone that teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the ITBP and the Home Guard have been involved in the search operation.

The rescuers reached the disaster-hit village on Thursday after trekking for two hours as the link road washed away.

Besides houses, a multi-storey building of a primary health centre and a primary school building have been washed away.

According to the state’s disaster management authority, besides Shimla, the damage owing to downpours was also in Kullu and Mandi districts.

This is the second massive devastation caused by cloudbursts in the Himalayan state in less than a year.

The police team along with the assistance of the NDRF, fire and rescue and locals on Thursday rescued 22 people stranded in the Malana dam site in Kullu district by using rope equipment as the water level receded. The dam was also damaged in the flash flood.

In Kullu, another cloudburst occurred at Jaon village in Nirmand tehsil where nine people are still missing and the rescue operation is underway. One died in the calamity.

A team of the 14 NDRF started a rescue operation at Jari in Manikaran in Kullu after trekking due to a roadblock 10 km from the site.

Another calamity-hit is Tikkar Thalu Kot village in Padhar tehsil in Mandi district where three deaths were reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda called Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Thursday and inquired about the situation in the state.

“Two additional battalions of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed by the Centre for relief and rescue operations,” CM Sukhu told the media after chairing a high-level meeting here to review the situation on Thursday.

The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force have been requested to remain on high alert to handle any exigency, the CM added.