Rains trigger flashfloods near Manali, 7 vehicles swept away
MONSOON FURY KulluManali highway blocked due to debris, traffic diverted via left bank
SHIMLA: A flashflood triggered by torrential rains wreaked havoc in Bran village, around 5km from a tourist resort in Manali, Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday. At least seven vehicles, including six cars and a motorbike, were washed away in the flood.
Heavy flow of the debris also blocked the Kullu-Manali national highway causing traffic jam.
A public works department (PWD) team has been working to open the highway for traffic since Wednesday morning.
The traffic on the national highway has now been diverted from the left bank of the Beas.
Manali sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Raman Gharsanghi said, “Flashfloods occurred in Bran Nullah in Manali at around 3am and swept away vehicles parked on the roadside.”
“Public property worth crores was also damaged,” he said, adding that at least seven vehicles were washed away. Two roads, six footbridges, a water supply line, irrigation channel and a watermill were also damaged. “However, no loss of life has been reported so far,” he said.
He also said the administration has evacuated the houses near the nullah and residents have been moved to safer places.
The administration has also asked people to stay alert as the state meteorological centre has predicted more rains in Himachal for the next three days.
FOUR LABOURERS HURT IN WALL COLLAPSE
As many as four labourers were hurt when a retaining wall of a house collapsed in the outskirts of Shimla’s Jhajot locality. All four labourers, Vinod Kumar, Darshan Singh, Balbir Singh and Mehar Chand, were working at Jahjot when a retaining wall collapsed.
Mehar Chand sustained grievious injuries and was rushed to the Indira Gandhi Medical Hospital while three others with minor injuries were taken to a private hospital near Panthaghati.
Deputy commissioner Amit Kashyap disbursed ₹10,000 as an immediate relief to Mehar Chand while the rest were given ₹5,000 each.