Heavy Rainfall Causes Widespread Disruptions in Himachal Pradesh; 73 Roads Closed and Power Schemes

Light rainfall was witnessed in some parts of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday and 73 roads are closed for vehicular traffic in the state due to the ongoing downpour, officials said.

The local MeT office has warned of heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places in the state on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Out of the 73 blocked roads on Saturday morning, 35 are blocked in Shimla, 20 in Mandi, nine in Kangra, six in Kullu, two in Kinnaur and one in Una district, according to the state emergency operation centre.

Amid the rains, 53 power schemes were disrupted.

Meanwhile, light rains have been witnessed in a few parts of the state since Friday evening with Dharamshala receiving 38 mm of rain followed by Solan at 36.8 mm, Una at 31.2, Palampur at 26.3 mm, Nahan at 14.8 mm, OLinda at 14 mm, Berthin at 12.5 Shimla at 11.3 mm, Jubberhatti at 11 mm, Kotkhai at 10.1 mm, Manali and Rohru at 8 mm and Rampur at 6.8 mm, Neri at 6.5 mm, Mandi at 5.4 mm and Dalhousie at 5 mm.

As many as 140 people have died in rain-related incidents so far since the onset of the monsoon season on June 27 till Friday and the state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 1,212 crore, the centre said.

Himachal Pradesh's rainfall deficit since the onset of monsoon on June 27 till date stood at 24 per cent, with the state receiving 433.7 mm of rain against an average of 571.4 mm.

Keylong in the tribal Lahaul & Spiti district was the coldest place in the state, recording a night temperature of 11.2 mm degrees Celsius while Bilaspur was hottest with a maximum temperature of 34.4 degrees Celsius.