Five of family killed in house collapse due to landslide in Kullu
Eight members of the family were buried in the debris of whom five died and three were rescued by villagers during the accident that happened at 1.30 am, the police said
Five members of a family were killed when a house collapsed following a landslide in the remote Sharmani village in the Nirmand sub division in Himachal’s Kullu on Tuesday, police said.
Eight members of the family were buried in the debris of whom five died and three were rescued by villagers during the accident that happened at 1.30 am, the police said. All three survivors are hospitalised in Nirmand, sub-divisional magistrate Manmohan Singh said.
According to the police, the families of brothers Dharam Das, 48, and Shiv Ram, 52, lived in the same house and both sustained injuries. Though Shiv Ram, who was sleeping in verandah, survived, his wife Bresti Devi, 50, son Chunni Lal, 32, daughter-in-law Anju Kumari, 25, grandson Bhupesh, 5, and granddaughter Jagriti , 8, died in the house collapse.
Dharam Das and his wife Kala Devi, 45, were hospitalised. Their son was not at home during the time of accident.
Himachal has reported 378 deaths, including 213 fatalities linked to rain-related incidents such as landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, drowning, lightning strikes, electrocution, and 165 deaths reported in road accidents since the monsoon began on June 20, according to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).
CM and Dy CM express grief over loss of lives in Nirmand
Chief minister (CM) Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has expressed grief over loss of lives at Shamarni village. The CM said that the relief and rescue operation was being carried out on a war-footing.
Expressing grief, deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri said that this tragedy is deeply painful and the state government stands in full solidarity with the affected family. He directed to provide proper medical treatment to the injured.
684 roads still blocked
Meanwhile, road connectivity remained affected in many regions with 684 roads, including four national highways, blocked in the hill state on Tuesday.
It included 214 roads blocked in Kullu district, followed by 158 in Mandi, 88 in Shimla and 48 in Chamba district.
In Una district, NH-70 was blocked and the traffic was diverted via an alternate route. While NH-305 and NH-03 continued to remain blocked in Kullu district, NH-05 also remained blocked in Kinnaur district on Tuesday.
The Mandi-Kullu stretch of Chandigarh-Manali NH was blocked for a few hours on Tuesday morning due to a landslide at Banala. The traffic movement on the stretch was restored later.
Schools closed in Banjar, Manali on Sept 10, 11
Deputy commissioner Kullu has issued an order informing that all private and government educational, Anganwadi centers will remain closed on September 10 and September 11 in Banjar and Manali sub-division. All educational institutions in sub-tehsil Jari and the schools in Kullu sub-division will remain closed only on September 10.
Central team visits Banjar, Mandi
The inter-ministerial central team visited the disaster affected areas of Banjar, Mandi subdivision on Tuesday to take stock of the damage caused by heavy rainfall during the monsoon season.
Deputy commissioner Kullu Torul S Raveesh, along with senior officials of the district administration, were present with the central team in Banjar, meanwhile, additional DC Gursimar Singh, SDM Sadar Rupinder Kaur, SDM Balichowki Devi Ram and senior officers of the district administration were present with the central team in Mandi.
The team inspected the affected sites on the spot and made a detailed assessment of the damage.
In Mandi, the central team took stock of the buildings that collapsed at Balichowki’s zero point, the damaged DTR structure on NH-305 and the main water supply scheme of Mandi town affected by the rains.
Heavy rain alert in parts of Himachal on September 13
The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Shimla office has predicted rainfall to continue in parts of Himachal in the coming days with a heavy rainfall alert in some districts on September 13.
According to MeT department officials, light to moderate rainfall is very likely at a few places till September 12 and on September 15, while many places are expected to receive rainfall on September 13 and 14.
The weather office has issued a yellow alert of heavy rainfall in Una, Bilaspur, Kangra and Sirmaur districts. Moreover, a yellow alert of thunderstorms and lightning has been sounded in several districts on September 12 and 13.
During the last 24 hours, the monsoon activity was normal over the state. While light to moderate rain was observed at many places, heavy rain was observed at isolated places during this period.
Dalai Lama expresses sadness over rain damage in Himachal
Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, has written to Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressing sadness over the loss of life and unprecedented destruction of property and infrastructure in several parts of the state due to extremely heavy monsoon rains this year.
“I would like to offer my prayers and condolences to you, to the families who have lost loved ones, and to everyone affected by this natural disaster,” the Dalai Lama wrote.
“I am aware that the state government and all concerned agencies are engaged in urgent relief and rehabilitation work. As a token of my solidarity with the people of the state, I have asked the Dalai Lama Trust to make a donation as a contribution to the relief and rehabilitation efforts.
“As you know, Dharamshala has been my home for more than 65 years. I often refer to the state’s chief minister as ‘our CM’. I deeply appreciate the friendship and hospitality that people from all spheres of society in Himachal Pradesh have shown me and my fellow Tibetans all these years,” the letter by the spiritual leader stated.
35 new vehicles to help in restoration work
The Public Works Department (PWD) minister of Himachal Vikramaditya Singh flagged off 35 vehicles which will be used for restoration works in disaster-hit areas of the state.
Speaking to reporters after the flag-off ceremony in Shimla, Singh said the vehicles, procured at a cost of about ₹3.5 crore, will aid PWD officials and field staff engaged in road restoration and rescue operations following widespread monsoon damage.
Singh said the new vehicles will primarily be deployed in remote and difficult-to-reach sub-divisions where PWD engineers earlier faced challenges due to lack of transport facilities. “These vehicles are being released at a time when rescue and restoration work is ongoing across the state. But I am also deeply saddened that during these operations, two of our PWD operators lost their lives in the line of duty. We stand with their families and will extend full support,” the minister said.
“Our proposal is to purchase 70 vehicles, but in the first phase, we have bought 35. These will be sent to sub-divisions where no departmental vehicles were available so that our junior engineers and SDOs can carry out their work more effectively,” he added.
