Death toll in Himachal rain fury mounts to 327, two more bodies recovered by NDRF
The death toll on Monday and Tuesday Rainfury went up to 44 as two more bodies were recovered by the National Disaster Relief Force from Kirshananagar and Shiv Baowri rain-affected places, The State Disaster Management Authority said that rain-related death from June 24 to August 16, 2023 went upto 327.
The NDRF has deployed ten teams in Shimla, Kangra, Mandi, and Sirmaur to evacuate the missing 30 people in the state however during a rescue operation at Shiv Bawori in Summerhill one more body was recovered today increasing the number of traces bout 13 however eight people are still missing. The NDRF pulled out one more body from Krishananagar slaughterhouse rubles the deceased was identified as Raju belonged to UP. One body was recovered from the same spot last night. The deceased was identified as Bhalla hailed from Punjab. Two people were missing as including the slaughterhouse five building collapsed after sliding down the entire hillock to the Lalpani gorge.
Meantime district administration vacated three more buildings in Shimla town after declaring them unsafe following the development of cracks in the foundation walls. The District Administration building of the Urban Development Department at Vikasnagar was vacated today moreover two private houses on the cart road near Saint Edward Schools were also vacated. The houses are in the danger line after caving in a retaining wall of the roads along with huge Deodar trees on Monday night.
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, conducted an aerial survey of flood-affected regions of Fatehpur and Indora assembly segment, in district Kangra today. He took stock of evacuation operations of the areas flooded downstream of Pong Reservoir and other relief works. CM said that as many as 27 Panchayats of Indora and Fatehpur area have been affected due to water logging downstream the Pong reservoir out of which 22 Panchayats have been severely affected due to flood. Nearly 1150 persons have been evacuated so far with the help of the Indian Air Force, Army, National Disaster Response Force, and State Disaster Response Force. Police and Home Guards personnel have also been roped in for the evacuation process, he added.
State Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla today visited Krishna Nagar in Shimla and met the 22 affected family members whose houses were damaged due to a landslide. The families have been provided shelter in a nearby community hall. He also distributed relief material through the State Red Cross.
In the last few days, due to the incessant rains, Shimla town has witnessed landslides at various places resulting in heavy loss of life and material. Several houses have fallen and many more are at risk in Krishna Nagar in which 300 families have been affected.
Meanwhile, Urban and Rural areas of Shimla town all Govt, Private Educational institutions including the College, Schools, and Vocational Training center, Aganwardi shall remain closed on August 17, the concerned sub-divisional officer said in a separate notification issued today.
According to the spokesperson of the State Education Department no there was no office order circulated that the state government has declared August 17 as Holiday for Schools and colleges. The government spokesperson said that such an order issued by the department is fake however Deputy commissioner has been issued any such order of holiday shall be followed in the concerned district.
According to SDMA, the total monetary loss amounted to Rs 7482.82 Crore till today as 1762 houses were fully damaged, 9852 parity and 3909 cowsheds, and 292 shops were affected by the rain, a Total of 327 human life lost and 318 sustained injuries. 214 people died in rain-related mishaps and 113 in road rain-related mishap in the rainy season. The state recorded around 91 landslides including 41 in Shimla which took 58 lives, Solan Kullu also recorded 12 landslides and 15 flashfloods which took 40 lives.
