70 tourists stranded at HP’s Chitkul
Road to last village near China border closed due to threat of shooting stones; flash flood at Sangla but no loss of life reported
SHIMLA: A day after nine tourists were killed when boulders fell on their minibus in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, the 23-km stretch from Sangla to Chitkul near the China border has been closed, leaving 70 tourists stranded at Chitkul.
“The stretch is prone to shooting stones. We have closed the road for the time-being. Efforts are on to evacuate the stranded tourists. They are safe but their evacuation will depend on the weather,” Kinnaur deputy commissioner Abid Hussain Sadiq said.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the nine tourists killed in Sunday’s landslide were sent to Delhi on Monday morning by road.
Chitkul is the last inhabited village on the Indo-Tibetan border and is located along the Baspa river. It is the last point in India where one can travel without a permit.
Another landslide damaged a road at Mane Demul in Lahaul and Spiti district. “All tourists are safe, though there is a concern about the adverse weather conditions and reoccurring landslides,” said Sangla gram panchayat head.
“Restoration work is on,” state disaster management authority director Sudesh Mokta said. He said road in Sangla is still closed. It is expected to reopen by Tuesday evening. On Tuesday, a three-member geological team from Chandigarh is also coming to Kinnaur to conduct a survey of the incident, he added.
“There are big boulders on road and it will take time for machinery to clear them. Some of the rocks are so big they will have to be detonated,” said Swati Dogra, Kalpa subdivisional magistrate. The district administration has deputed policemen on the both sides to keep a watch on shooting stones.
Monsoon has caused a loss of more than Rs 400 crore in 43 days in Himachal Pradesh. The public works department has suffered the maximum loss, which could run up to Rs 271 crore. The IPH department has suffered a loss of Rs 115 crore.
Red warning issued for four districts
IMD on Monday issued a heavy rain warning in Himachal Pradesh. The local weather department has issued an orange alert for nine districts of the state, while four districts — Kangra, Mandi Bilaspur and Sirmaur — have been issued red warning for July 28. Director, IMD, Himachal Pradesh, Surender Paul, said the orange alert during these two to three days has been issued for Chamba, Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Una, Solan, Sirmaur and Shimla.