M A I N   N E W S

Himachal on alert after heavy rain
Tribune News Service

Shimla/Dharamsala, July 7
Heavy rains today paralysed Himachal Pradesh, triggering landslides which disrupted traffic on major highways. With most rivers in spate, authorities sounded an alert for people living along the banks to move to safer places.

Mandi-Kullu, Mandi-Palampur and Mandi-Shimla highways were blocked for two to three hours due to landslides, while a bridge near Solang was washed away in rains. A massive landslide changed the course of a swollen stream, flooding a hospital in Mandi where several vehicles parked in the hospital complex were buried under the debris.

All rivers and their tributaries were in spate following which an alert was sounded advising people living along the river banks to shift to safer places in view of flash flood threats due to rains in catchment areas. Dharamsala received the maximum 160 mm of rainfall in the state, followed by Palampur 150, Paonta Sahib 141, Kangra 75 mm, Gaggal 73 and Mandi 60 mm. Monsoon remained active in most parts of the state during past 24 hours and the local MeT office has warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in Sirmaur, Solan, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Una districts along with parts of Shimla, Mandi and Kangra during the next 48 hours.

In Kangra district, a warning has been issued to villagers in the Mand area along the Beas, downstream the Pong Dam reservoir. The Pong Dam reservoir has the water holding capacity up to 1,390 ft.

Sources in the BBMB said the water level in the Pong Dam reservoir was 1,329 feet yesterday. Besides the Beas, the Chaki river also causes flood in Nurpur and Indora subdivisions of Kangra district.

The Swan river poses threat to Una and adjoining districts during the rains in the Shivalik hills. It was earlier called "sorrow of Una" due to damage caused to people. Now, most of the stretch of the river in Una has been channelised. In many areas, illegal colonies have come up on the riverbed. Colonisers have developed the riverbeds of the Swan's tributaries that have not received water for a few years. According to experts, in case of heavy rain, heavy damage can be caused to illegal colonies that have come up on the riverbeds in Una district.

(With inputs from Lalit Mohan in Dharamsala)