HP rains: NDRF rescues stranded people; bridge washed away

Over 50 people were stranded in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district following a cloudburst and have been rescued by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), officials said on Friday. The cloudburst occurred in Shehnu Gouni village late on Thursday and subsequently triggered a landslide that blocked roads at several points.
An NDRF team travelled 15 km on foot to rescue the stranded people, including 15 children, and shifted them to safer locations, the officials said. In another rain-related incident, the Maranwala bridge in Baddi connecting the industrial Baddi area and Pinjaur collapsed on Friday following a heavy flow of water in the Balad River due to recent rains. No loss of life was reported in the incident, officials said. “The Maranwala Bridge has been washed away and traffic has been diverted through Kalka-Kalujhanda-Barotiwala road,” Superintendent of Police (SP) of Baddi, Mohit Chawala told reporters, “We have also written to the SP Mohali, SP Roopnagar (Punjab) and DCP Panchkula to stop entry of heavy vehicles from Chandigarh to Baddi via Siswan and Marranwala to Siswan during peak hours from 7:30 am to 10:20 am and 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Bridges in Baddi have been damaged due to rains and traffic is being regulated through alternate routes,” he added.
Heavy rains in the state have led to the closure of 709 roads. So far over 240 people have died in rain-related incidents since the onset of monsoon in the state between 24 June and 24 August. The state’s Public Works Department (PWD) alone has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 2,829 crore.