Heavy monsoon rains continued to batter Himachal Pradesh, triggering landslides and disrupting road connectivity across several districts.
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Himachal on high alert: Heavy rains trigger landslides, waterlogging across state, 69 roads, 80 water supply schemes affected | Image: ANI
Shimla: Incessant torrential downpours disrupted normal life across Himachal Pradesh. Rainwater inundated major routes and triggered landslides in several areas, disrupting road connectivity, drinking water supply, and power infrastructure across several districts. According to the State Emergency Operation Centre’s (SEOC) evening public utility report, as many as 69 roads remained blocked, including 23 in Nirmand , 14 in Banjar, 13 in Mandi, 6 in Sirmaur, 5 in Shimla, 4 in Kangra, 2 in Una, and 1 in Lahaul and Spiti. Kullu emerged as the worst-affected district, with 38 roads closed.
Authorities restored traffic on 21 roads during the day. However, continuous rainfall led to fresh disruptions, with 26 additional roads becoming inaccessible and restoration work still underway.
Drinking water supply also remained severely affected, with 80 Water Supply Schemes (WSS) non-functional across the state. Sirmaur accounted for the highest number of disruptions, where 69 schemes were affected, including 31 in Nahan, 26 in Shillai, nine in Sangrah and three in Rajgarh. Hamirpur reported eight disrupted schemes in Barsar subdivision, while Shimla reported three affected water supply schemes.
Power infrastructure suffered limited but significant damage, with 13 Distribution Transformer Regions (DTRs) remaining out of service. These included eight transformers in Banjar subdivision of Kullu, four in Chopal subdivision of Shimla and one in Joginder Nagar subdivision of Mandi. Restoration teams repaired 12 damaged transformers during the day, restoring electricity in several affected areas.
The SEOC said the cumulative impact of the ongoing monsoon has already caused extensive damage across the state. Between July 6 and July 12, authorities recorded 25 landslides, damage to 788 distribution transformers, and disruption of 154 water supply schemes.
State agencies, including the Public Works Department (PWD), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) and the Jal Shakti Vibhag, have deployed heavy machinery and emergency response teams to clear debris, restore road connectivity and repair damaged utility infrastructure.
Officials said all 25 previously reported landslide locations have been cleared. However, persistent rainfall continues to trigger fresh slides and hamper restoration work in vulnerable areas.
District Emergency Operation Centres across Himachal Pradesh remain on round-the-clock alert, closely monitoring the weather situation and coordinating response and restoration efforts in the affected districts.
(wiht ANI inputs)
