Monsoon fury: Parts of Punjab, Kangra flooded as Pong, Bhakra release water; HP toll rises to 72

Sanjeev Bariana & Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh/Shimla, August 16

Many areas in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh were inundated on Wednesday with the opening of floodgates of the Bhakra and Pong dams as the inflow in these reservoirs increased alarmingly due to rain in hills in the past three days. The toll due to rain-related incidents since August 14 has mounted to 72 in HP.

Ropar, Gurdaspur among worst-hit

• Sutlej floods areas in Nangal and Anandpur Sahib in Ropar district
• Beas inundates parts of Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Kapurthala
• Villages in Tarn Taran district face fury of both rivers

The Sutlej flooded villages between Nangal and Anandpur Sahib in Ropar district, whereas the Beas inundated parts of Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and Kapurthala districts. Villages in Tarn Taran district faced the fury of both the rivers. Official sources said though inflow into the Bhakra and Pong dams had started receding, the floodgates would remain open for at least three days. The water level at the Pong Dam had touched 1,399.65 feet on Wednesday morning, while the maximum permissible limit is 1,390 feet.

2 killed in Chamoli

• Two Nepalese nationals were killed and five others injured when a house collapsed in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district.
• A rescue operation was launched immediately after the incident on Tuesday evening. Two of the injured are critical. pti

At the Bhakra Dam, the level recorded on Wednesday was 1,677 feet, just three feet below the maximum permissible limit of 1,680 feet.

Residents of at least 60 villages in the Mand area, along the Beas and the Sutlej, flowing towards the Harike headworks, remained on tenterhooks throughout the day. By the evening, many shifted to relief camps.

The Gurdaspur administration sent an SOS to the Army, NDRF and SDRF after 36 villages were inundated. More than 250 people from Talwandi Kuka village of Bholath in Kapurthala district were shifted to a relief camp by the SDRF and the Army. At least 200 people are still stuck there. Water entered dozens of villages in the Talwara area of Hoshiarpur district. In Himachal Pradesh, the swollen Beas today submerged several villages in the Mand area of Kangra, forcing the authorities to rescue over 1,300 persons. IAF choppers were also deployed to airlift stranded persons. As many as 150 people are still stuck there.

Kangra Deputy Commissioner Nipun Jindal said people were reluctant to leave their homes and cattle despite warning that more water would be released from the dam. The worst-affected villages include Badala, Bela, Indora, Mand Sanour, Ulehrian and Mand.

Meanwhile, five buildings collapsed in Krishnanagar, Shimla, on Tuesday, leaving two persons dead. However, the loss of life was minimised as the houses had been vacated earlier.

Thirteen bodies have been recovered from the rubble of the Summer Hill temple here as locals claimed there were 21 persons inside the shrine at the time of the landslide there. With almost 60 hours having passed since the incident occurred, chances of finding any survivors are negligible.

The toll due to the monsoon fury in HP till now stands at 327, with 38 persons missing. Vehicular movement remained severely crippled all across the state with the Chandigarh-Manali highway blocked at several places between Mandi and Pandoh.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#Kangra #Monsoon #Shimla