Traffic jam on Chandigarh-Shimla highway after landslide in Solan
Heavy rain triggers landslide at Chakki Mod in Solan district; Kalka-Shimla train service suspended for the day.
The Chandigarh-Shimla national highway (NH-5) was blocked for four hours after a landslide at Chakki Mod in Solan district after heavy rain in the region around 8am on Wednesday, police said.
Though traffic was partially restored on the route, long traffic jams on both sides of the highway delayed the supply of essential items to Solan and Shimla in the morning.
The police said traffic was being allowed to ply on one side of the road after it was cleared of debris at multiple locations between Parwanoo town and Solan. Restoration work has been slow amid falling debris. The highway is undergoing upgrades, including four-laning, to cut travel time.
The Kalka-Shimla heritage toy train service was suspended for the day in view of the inclement weather and falling debris. All six scheduled trains were cancelled due to track being blocked at several places by landslides. Restoration work is underway on the route.
Milk, bread and vegetable supplies arrived late in Solan and Shimla due to the landslides.
The state capital witnessed heavy traffic jams amid the rain. Schools were closed as a precautionary measure.
A landslide crushed four vehicles in Shimla’s Tutu, while in Baddi, a bridge linking Dhela panchayat to Dawni Industrial Area has cut off connectivity to industrial zones.
State revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi said, “The state has seen intense rainfall over the past two days that has left infrastructure damaged.” Since the monsoon arrived on June 20, Himachal Pradesh has incurred a loss of more than ₹1,600 crore in rain-related incidents. “The assessment of agriculture and horticulture has not been completed. In such a situation, the figure will only increase,” he said.
476 Kinnaur-Kailash pilgrims rescued
After a flash flood washed away a large part of the trekking route in the Tangling area along the Kinnaur-Kailash Yatra route, personnel of the 17th Battalion of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) rescued 476 pilgrims and evacuated them to safer locations, said an official.
Owing to the continuous heavy rainfall in district Kinnaur, the district administration on Tuesday had temporarily suspended the Kinnaur Kailash Yatra. After receiving a distress call from the Kinnaur district administration on Wednesday morning, the ITBP and NDRF teams were mobilised again and continued the rescue operation.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast moderate rainfall at most places in Himachal Pradesh, with a few spells of intense to very intense rainfall likely in the districts of Bilaspur, Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur, and Mandi on Wednesday.
Light to moderate rainfall is expected at many places in Chamba, Kangra, Hamirpur, Una, Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, and Kullu districts.
Water supply to be hit in Shimla
Due to very high turbidity at the water sources and seeing the weather predictions, there will be disturbance in the water supply schedule in Shimla for the two to three days/ till floods recede. Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Limited (SJPNL) has urged the citizens to use water judiciously.
