Shimla: Incessant rains over the last 24 hours has disrupted normal life in the hills, leaving a trail of destruction behind as a village near Poanta Sahib was declared unsafe, divers had been requisitioned to fish out two bodies from a dam site and the met office has forecast more rain ahead.
Bodies of two persons were found floating on today morning in the back waters of Nathpa Dam that stores water, which is diverted into a 27 Km long tunnel, to operate the large 1500 MW Jhakri hydro plant on Satluj River.
Divers from para-military force the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), stationed nearby, were requisitioned to bring out the two bodies, said Sanjeev Sood, general manager of the Nathpa-Jhakri project. The two persons were reported have drowned in the swollen river upstream of the dam site.
With the weather station at Poanta Sahib recording 105 mm of rains in 24 hours, cracks are said to have developed in houses and other structures at Shamah village, under the jurisdiction of Poanta Sahib sub-division that has forced the district administration to declare it unsafe.
“Soil erosion and constant rains have posed danger to Shamah village and it has been declared unsafe, Vikas Labroo, the district magistrate told Hill Post. Efforts are on to shift the village residents to a safer place. In all there are 36 families in the village that need to be relocated,” he added.
Heavy rainfall was recorded at Dharamshala, Sujanpur Tira and Guler weather stations. While Dharamsala recorded 131 mm of rains in 24 hours, at Sujanpur Tira it was 123 mm, Guler 122 mm at Nagrota Suriyan it was 84 mm. Una 76 mm, Bilaspur 50 mm and at Kangra 43 mm. The tourist township of Manali received 30 mm of rain, Dalhousie 32 mm and in Shimla it was just 10 mm.
Water flows in most rivers was on the rise though the level in most dams was below the danger level. The water level at Bhakra dam on Satluj River was recorded at 1653 feet and at Pong Dam on Beas River it was 1350 feet.
Senior BJP leader and former speaker Thakur Gulab Singh said that it was one of the heaviest rainy seasons in 40 years. There has been heavy damage to land, roads, houses, cowshed and crops in many parts of Kullu, Mandi and Kangra districts, said the legislator and sought the government attention for immediate relief measures.
With the skies cast in heavy rain clouds, the meteorological office has forecast more rains over the next two days with it likely to be heavy to very heavy in some places. “Heavy to very heavy rainfall would occur at one or two places over the state,” said Manmohan Singh, the met station director.
Photo: Amit
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
