25 die as final monsoon burst batters north India
HIGH ALERT Schools, colleges closed in Punjab; 200 road links snapped in HP RIVERS IN SPATE Beas, Sutlej above danger mark; Pong gates to open today
CHANDIGARH: Twenty-five people have died in flashfloods, landslides, roof-collapse and other incidents triggered by incessant rain in the region. Eight deaths have been reported from Himachal Pradesh, seven from J&K, six from Punjab, and four from Haryana.
A high alert has been sounded in the worst-hit Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. Heavy landslides hit vehicular movement on the Chandigarh-Manali highway beyond Mandi town and on the Pathankot-Chamba highway.
Three people were washed away near Manali late on Sunday night when their vehicle fell into the swollen Beas river. Elsewhere, two people were washed away in the Parbati river in the Manikaran valley, while a girl died near Bajaura.
A man was drowned in a swollen rivulet near Palampur town in Kangra district, while another was killed when a building was washed away in a rivulet in Una district.
Several houses in Kullu town were swept away in flashfloods as the Beas is flowing above the danger mark. Reports said five faculty members of the IIT-Mandi went missing at Chandratal (4,300 metres ) in Lahaul-Spiti. They had gone there for trekking.
On government’s request, the Indian Air Force has stationed a chopper in Kullu town to deal with any emergency.
The higher reaches of Kullu, Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts experienced snowfall. Keylong
town in Lahaul-Spiti district saw over two feet of snow.
The government has announced closure of all educational institutions in Chamba, Kullu, Sirmaur, Kangra, Kullu and Hamirpur districts till September 25. In the wake of heavy rains, a ‘red alert’ was also issued
in Punjab where educational institutes have been ordered to remain closed on Tuesday.
The Punjab government has asked district authorities to maintain vigil to avert any untoward situation due to heavy rains, an official said.
In Punjab, a total of six people
died in rain-related incidents — three in Kapurthala, two in Amritsar and an 8-month-old girl in Jalandhar. A brother-sister duo was among three people who died in separate roof-collapse incidents in Kapurthala. Another roof collapse occurred in Buta village, in which a labourer died.
A 43-year-old man and his 12-year-old son were killed when the car they were travelling in plunged into a drain in Amritsar’s Khiala village.
In Jalandhar, an 8-month-old girl drowned in a flooded street. The infant was the daughter of a couple from Rajasthan.
Seven people died in Jammu and Kashmir — five in Doda district and two in Kathua, due to roof collapse and landslide.