Mandi (Himachal Pradesh): Amid the incessant downpour in Himachal Pradesh, about 900 girls under the age of 19 got stuck in the flash floods that hit Sekad Khadd on Saturday. The girl students from the Government Senior Secondary School Gagal under the Balh sub-division were on a visit to the village for a district-level sports competition, accompanied by 250 teachers and other staff.
The continuous downpour in the area that started on Friday led to flash floods, while the building where all the girl students and the staff were accommodated got surrounded by knee-deep water. As soon as the staff noticed the speed with which the water level was rising, all the girls were immediately shifted to the first floor of the building.
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The Balh assembly constituency MLA Inder Singh Gandhi and Sub-Divisional Officer Smritika Negi reached the spot as soon as they were informed about the girls being trapped. The education department and administration immediately made arrangements for food and lodging for all the players in Gagal itself. Once the weather cleared a bit, some of the girl students were sent home. Some others have been accommodated in the house of MLA Inder Singh Gandhi, some were accommodated at the Mandi Girls School through the deputy director, and some others were lodged in the ashram of Sudhanshu Ji Maharaj in Gagal.
Meanwhile, the district-level sports competitions were also disrupted and eventually concluded with a unanimous decision of skipping some of the scheduled competitions on Saturday. Zilla Parishad President Pal Verma attended the closing ceremony as the chief guest.
