Rain claims two lives in HP; breach in
choe near Ropar
From Tribune Reporters

SHIMLA, Sept 23 — Two persons died in separate incidents of house collapse as torrential rain continued to lash the region for the fourth day today.

The temperature plummeted as the higher reaches of tribal Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba had fresh snowfall. The Rohtang Pass and Dhauladhar ranges also had snowfall.

Panju Ram, a labourer, was killed when his 'dhara' (temporary structure) in Krishna Nagar colony here collapsed due to heavy rain. Amit Kumar, a resident of Kuniahar in Solan district, died when the shop in which he was sleeping collapsed.

Normal life in most part of the state was thrown out of gear as heavy rain continued throughout the day.

There was a spate of landslides, which blocked link roads. A large number of trees were also uprooted.

There were several landslips in and around Shimla and some trees fell in the Jakhoo area where a ropeway was being constructed. Taps in some localities remained dry as heavy silt affected pumping of water at Gummah headworks.

According to reports received here, a big landslide near Naini Khud blocked the Chamba-Pathankot road. The Chandigarh-Manali national highway was blocked near Hanogi, while the Hindustan-Tibet road was blocked by numerous landslips between Rampur and Kinnaur.

Vehicular traffic in the interior of Shimla district was also affected as landslides blocked several link roads.

The Swan river, which was in spate in Una district, washed away big chunks of agricultural land.

ROPAR: A breach occurred on Wednesday in a seasonal choe near Asmanpur village on the Ropar-Nurpur Bedi road, about 25 km from here, following heavy rain in the region.

Mr Sohan Lal Bhumbak, District Flood Control Officer, said following the breach in the choe, rain water entered nearby fields. He said drainage officials had already visited the breach site and plugging work would be started there as soon as the rain stopped.

However, no loss of property or life had been reported from anywhere in the district so far.

However, Mr Bhumbak had no information about the width of breach in Asmanpur choe. No information in this regard could also be got from the Nurpur Bedi police station.

Heavy rain continued in this town since afternoon.

Earlier, addressing a press conference, Mr K.S. Sidhu, Deputy Commissioner, said the administration had identified four sensitive areas in view of the heavy rain. These were Dharak, Mauli Badwan, Solkhian and Bela Rampur. A close watch was being kept on these areas by the drainage officials and SDMs.

Referring to reports about breaches in the Sirhind canal, published in the Press today, Mr Sidhu said the 50-ft embankment of the canal near the Canal Rest House at Chamkaur Sahib was eroded due to the heavy current of the water which had accumulated in Chamkaur Sahib. The bank of the canal and adjoining road were damaged and rain water entered the canal.

Mr Sidhu said plugging work had already been started at the site.

The irrigation authorities had yesterday said that the breach in the canal was caused by heavy rain.

Mr Jagmohan Singh Kalra, Chief Engineer (Canals), along with the SE, Sirhind canal, Mr S.S. Dhaliwal, and the XEN, Sirhind canal, Ropar Headworks Division, Mr D.S. Jassar, visited the breach site this morning.

Elsewhere in Punjab, Nawan-shahar in Jalandhar district was lashed by 125 mm rainfall, the highest on Wednesday for the entire north-west plains.

Dasuya in Hoshiarpur had 84.02 mm rainfall, Ludhiana received 83.2 mm, Balachaur 43.2 mm, Shahpur Kandi in Gurdaspur district 35.0 mm, Patti in Amritsar district 23 mm, Madhopur 15 mm, Moga 7.1 mm, Dhuri 7.0 mm, Nakodar 6.0 mm, Jagraon 4.2 mm and Patiala 4.1 mm.

In Haryana, Hisar received the highest rainfall of 55.8 mm, followed by Jagadhari 27 mm, Pehowa 26 mm, Sirsa 17.0 mm, Ambala 16.6 mm, Rohtak 10.1 mm, Rewari 7.4 mm, and Kurukshetra 4.0 mm.

ROHTAK: Incessant rain has created a flood-like situation in certain villages in the district.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anil Kumar, has advised the engineers of the Irrigation Department to immediately install electric pumps to drain out rainwater from the affected villages.

The rainwater has entered the abadies of the Ballambha and Gugaheri villages. In the primary school building at Gugaheri there is knee-deep water. Mr Anil Kumar has ordered digging of a drain on a war footing to drain out water that has entered several houses in Ballambha.

Inhabitants of Bharan village have constructed an earthen bundh to stop the rainwater flowing from Ajaib village. Had they not acted in time, the rainwater could have flooded Bharan.

The situation at Bahu-Akabarpur village is worse. The fields are under 2-3 ft water and the standing jowar crop has been damaged.

The situation in the Madina Myna and Bhalli villages is not very different. These villages are surrounded by 3-4 ft deep water.

The worst affected areas are Harinagar, Civil Lines, Civil Hospital road, Sainipura, Garhi mohalla, Ram Nagar, Jagdish colony, Arya Nagar, railway road and the bus stand. The sewers have been overflowing and water has entered several houses.

The area opposite the Naraina complex on the civil road has also been badly affected.

CHAMBA: The Chamba-Pathankot highway has been blocked at Naini khud owing to heavy landslides and rain in the Chamba for the past 36 hours. Traffic on the highway has been disrupted, leaving many tourists stranded.

According to the Deputy Commissioner, work is in progress to clear the highway.

UNA: Heavy rain lashed the entire district for the fourth day. The Swan river and its tributaries were swollen.

A roofs of a number of houses in Una town have started leaking due to the continuous heavy rain. Traffic on the Una-Panjwain, Gagret and Una-Hoshiarpur road remained suspended for hours.

HAMIRPUR: A local school building collapsed, injuring one teacher. However, the students had providential escape as they were playing outside.
According to reports, all rivulets flowing through the district were in spate. Thirtyfive persons, who were trapped in the waters of Kunah khud, near Rail village, about 25 km from here, on Tuesday night, were rescued by the local people and the district administration.

The rain has disrupted power supply, water supply, telecom services and even road transport in the interiors of the district.