IAF evacuates 350 Manimahesh pilgrims in Himachal; CM conducts aerial survey of flood-hit areas

About 350 stranded Manimahesh pilgrims were on Friday evacuated from Bharmaur to Chamba in Himachal Pradesh by IAF helicopters, officials said.

Hundreds of pilgrims are still stranded in different parts of Chamba district, especially in Bharmaur assembly constituency, which has been disconnected by roads following several landslides and flash floods triggered by heavy rain in the last week of August.

Deputy Commissioner, Chamba, Mukesh Repaswal said two helicopters of IAF have been pressed into service and all the stranded pilgrims would be evacuated on Friday.

Seventeen pilgrims have died so far since the start of Manimahesh Yatra on August 15 and hundreds of pilgrims are still stranded in different parts of Chamba district especially Bharmaur area.

However, there are unverified reports that that the death toll could be far higher.

The Manimahesh Lake is situated at an altitude of 13,000 feet at the foot of the Kailash.

Himachal Pradesh has been battling floods following heavy rains and landslides in many areas.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu conducted an aerial survey of flood affected areas of Kullu and Manali and gave necessary directions to the officers regarding restoration and opening of blocked roads.

In Bilsapur, about 14 families were shifted to safer places in Banali village in Naina Devi assembly constituency after their houses developed cracks following a landslide on Wednesday.

After the landslide in Banali village, two families of Dilwar Singh and Surendra Singh, whose houses were endangered were shifted on Wednesday.

Later, due to heavy rains, cracks were seen in other houses too and 14 houses have been declared unsafe to live in.

A total of 1217 roads are closed in the state. While 281 were blocked in Mandi, 261 in Shimla, 231 are in Kullu and 187 in Chamba district, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.

National Highway-3 (Mandi-Dharampur road), NH-5 (Old Hindustan-Tibet road), NH-305 (Aut-Sainj road) and NH-505 (Khab to Gramphu) were closed.

Trains plying on the Shimla-Kalka track have been cancelled till Friday following landslips on the track.

Light to moderate rains lashed a few parts of the state and Baggi in Mandi district received 61.3 mm of rain since Thursday evening, followed by Karsog 24.2 mm, Dhaulakuan 18.0 mm, Buntar 16 mm, Jot 14.2 mm, Gohar, Rampur and Manali 13 mm each, Naina Devi 12.8 mm and Jogindernagar 10 mm.

The local Met office has issued a yellow alert for heavy rains in isolated places of the state on Monday and Tuesday.

Since the onset of monsoon in Himachal on June 20, the state has witnessed 95 flash floods, 45 cloudbursts and 132 major landslide incidents.

At least 355 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents, while 49 are missing since the monsoon began.

Rains have also disrupted 1868 power transformers and 669 water supply schemes across the state, the SEOC said on Thursday evening.

The state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 3787 crore this monsoon so far, according to official data.