Manali (Himachal Pradesh): Traffic on the Chandigarh-Manali national highway between Mandi and Kullu and Shimla-Kalka road in Solan was blocked on Friday following massive landslides owing to overnight heavy rainfall, police said. The national highway was badly damaged in the landslide that occurred near Pandoh in Mandi district. Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded on both sides of the affected area.
The police have stopped vehicular traffic beyond Mandi towards Kullu and from Kullu towards Mandi. The alternate road link between Mandi and Kullu via Kataula has also been hampered by the massive landslide near Kamad, officials said. The district administrations of Mandi and Kullu have advised visitors to suspend their journey on the Mandi-Kullu route until the restoration of the highway. It is expected that the highway will be restored by later in the day.
Even the traffic on the Shimla-Kalka national highway was hampered due to landslips near Solan town. "Today Aug 11, at around 2:35 am to 2:40 am, due to rains, Shimla National Highway 5, between Thambu Mod and Chakki Mod, has been closed due to landslides from the hill," an official said. Shimla-Kalka road was opened for traffic on Wednesday following the restoration work. The road was closed after a landslide last week.
Meanwhile, the combined death toll from rains, floods, and landslides in Himachal Pradesh has reached 223 since the onset of the monsoon in the state on June 24. "So far, 223 people have lost their lives in Himachal Pradesh and 295 have been injured. As many as 800 houses have also been damaged completely, while another 7500 houses have been partially damaged," Himachal Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said.
National Center for Seismology said that an earthquake of magnitude 3.4 on the Richter scale jolted the Lahaul And Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh. The tremors were felt at 23:20:41, Indian standard time (IST). According to the NCS, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 5 kilometres. A government spokesperson said that the Satluj, Beas and Yamuna rivers and their tributaries are in spate in Kinnaur, Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Bilaspur and Sirmaur districts. These rivers enter Punjab and Haryana. (With agency inputs)
